


The Legend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time: The Fourth Anomaly

by Kenrai



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2020-05-28 14:41:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 38
Words: 220,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19396252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kenrai/pseuds/Kenrai
Summary: In a far corner of the world a nation blessed by at least eleven years of peace and prosperity is about to be woken up; the cogs of time are turning for the first time in three generations. Following a bloody and desperate civil war the softened and unwary people of Hyrule are about to be pulled from their comfort.Only a tiny Kokiri and his new guardian fairy stand between it.





	1. Nightmare

Ocarina of Time: The Fourth Anomaly

Chapter 1: Nightmare  
Extracting the Contamination Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.

Featured Music: “Title Theme” - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
“Two Worlds”; Link's Theme - Phil Collins. Scene 1 (Second Half).

–

The country of Hyrule. Year 709.

'Land of the Gods' and rumoured birthplace of the 'Sainted Three'.

Said to be hidden away in an unknown corner of the world that none may gaze upon or intrude on its serenity, Hyrule has seen incredible sights beyond even the greatest of claims. Presently, having just overcome a decade-long civil war, the Hyrulean royal family and its subjects now enjoy an eleven year period of peace and prosperity. With King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule now overseeing this grand country and the splendour in which he assisted in maintaining, the modest nation of Hyrule reclines with its royal family, content in the tranquillity it has won with such difficulty.

To the far north lie the hardy mountainous-region Gorons – a peculiar kind of people that feast on the very rocks that grow on their denizen known as 'Death Mountain'. The Gorons, like the Hylians in the centre of Hyrule, enjoy a period of hard-won peace and through their actions to assist in rebuilding are favoured by the royal family. However, that said, the Gorons have not been in contact with a Hylian in years...

Directly south of the mountain lies the wonderfully wet region of Lake Hylia and the Zora people who live there. Said to be a fish-like people of queer culture, the Zoras are largely an independent race that keep to themselves. While Hylians chiefly maintain the water output in Lake Hylia it is the Zoran people in the north-east portion of Hyrule known as 'Zora's Domain' whom supply the coveted water for the land and, indeed, the very country itself. Like King Daphnes of the Hylians, King Zora De Bon XVI rules over his people with a similar sense of leniency and luxury.

In the far-west quadrant of Hyrule's atlas lies the blazing desert of the Gerudo Valley. Unlike the rest of its Hyrulean brethren the civilisation of the Gerudo people are wrought with burning winds in the day and frigid gales in the night. Having been hardened through decades of hunting and self-reliance, the Gerudo people resort to thievery and even worse crimes in order to survive in their harsh environment. Said to be populated with an all-woman clan-like people, they rely on one another to endure the bleak reality of their world.

Finally, in the deep south-east is rumoured to be an endless field of green. Said to be populated by a never-aging clan of society, these wizened forest-folk have been given the name 'Kokiri' by the Hyrulean royal family. They warn Hylians to stay far away from the woods and to leave the quiet people of Kokiri Forest to their own devices. Watched over by a benevolent spirit left behind by the fabled 'Sainted Three', the Great Deku Tree, the Kokiri similarly enjoy centuries of lasting peace, granted by their marvellously hidden location.

For all of these societies, their realities are soon to be shaken for the gears of time that once run for the Sainted Three now creak back to life once again. An uneasy alliance between the Hyrulean royal family, led by the Gerudos' recent new king, slowly finds itself becoming the country's very own catalyst...

–

Scene 1

FLASH

Where-?

CHIK-CHIK-WHIRR

His sky-blue eyes re-adjusted to the darkness of night-time stretched out across the field of green behind him; he caught the sight of a dropping drawbridge.

Where am I, he thought.

FLASH

Another blank cut from his vision made his eyes catch the sight of a strange crest written upon the drawbridge's building.

Feathery wings were depicted as a placeholder under three bright, golden coloured triangles.

FLASH

A white horse wearing notable dark-blue gear and carrying similarly conspicuous passengers. Though they whizzed by him with incredible speed, the blue-eyed youth barely managed to catch a glance of two women. One much younger than the other commanding the horse.

FLASH

A presence let itself be known behind him and the green-clothed youth snapped his body around. Wide-eyed and opening his mouth in a display of his terror he suddenly knew he was dreaming.

And he couldn't stop it.

Wake up, he thought.

A much blacker horse now towered over his very small frame and the armoured red-haired man atop it turned to scowl down darkly at him.

Wake up!

FLASH

By the time his vision had restored, a huge stream of magical energy was seemingly shot out from the man's extended palm, aiming directly for the poor little boy.

WAKE UP!

~

“Wake UP!”

He awoke with a start; sky-blue eyes widened and in a deep, cold sweat, the youth's eyes darted around.

Where am I, he thought.

The familiar sight of his small wooden table and open window next to him made his nerves begin to settle.

“I'm home...”

“Link? Is that you?”

His briefly shut eyes shot upward with a light gasp. Having been called he turned his head up in its direction; toward the wooden door frame of his house.

“Y-Yeah!”

When he heard audible movement upon his ladder he knew the owner of the voice was coming up.

“Not now!” The newly named Link fretted as he attempted to very quickly wipe the freezing sweat from his brow and fix up his messy blonde hair.

There's no way I'll manage all this in time he thought.

As if to answer his silent horrors, there she was.

The smiling Saria of Kokiri Forest.

Though he initially frowned on up at her, Link forced a soft but wan smile on his own countenance.

“It's the middle of the day,” she laughed, brushing her dazzling emerald hair out of her eyes. “You have to stop sleeping in.”

Link chuckled but very quietly and almost to himself; he actively avoided her similarly cerulean eyesight.

Though they had been lifelong friends since as long as he could remember he had recently begun to feel strange around her.

I have no idea how to act around her anymore, he thought.

Almost as if sensing his very thoughts the older Kokiri sauntered over to his bed and rested herself on its soft frame just opposite of him. His eyes widened and, instinctively, he pulled his legs away from her then began to feel badly about it.

She's my friend, he thought.

Don't let her think otherwise.

“Sorry,” he instinctively apologised, chuckling a second time but this time in an attempt to sound genuine. He rubbed the back of his blonde head in a display of his manners, smiling in his briefly shut-eyed expression. “It was... the same dream.”

“Really?” Saria frowned back at him, a melancholic tone to her light voice. “Here...,” she smiled this time however as she nudged herself closer. Raising his similarly light eyebrows up in surprise he had to stop the urge to pull himself away from her as she leaned closer to him. The little Kokiri could only sit up in his crammed corner, feeling her small comb run through his messy straw locks.

He couldn't help but blush and, as before, turned his blue eyes from hers.

Saria put on a light grin as she held the younger Kokiri's head in place very delicately with her left hand, working on the clutter that was his head with her right.

“I hate when she does this,” he moaned in his thoughts, a tired frown adjoining the reddened hue his cheeks had taken. “She may as well be my...”

“You're the only one in this forest that sleeps in. And so late too!” The emerald haired girl laughed.

Link couldn't help but feel like he was being lectured right now.

Of all people to see me like this.

Why her?

And why now?

KNOCK

Saria's body swivelled around as quick as lightning, her eyes widened. Link turned his own eyes back to the front, also surprised at the noise.

What was-?

“T-The Great Deku Tree-!”

The interrupting voice, so soft and high, sounded like a young girl's. Link blinked once in general confusion. Facing his old friend as he propped himself further up with his small hands she exchanged an unsure shake of her head with him.

“L-Link? Is there a Link here?!”

“U-Um, yes!” Saria called toward the open door frame, leaning her head up and forward as she did. “Please come in.”

As if finally acquiescing, a bright blue bulb of what seemed to be magical energy entered the household. Link's sky-blue eyes darted to catch sight of what seemed to be wings.

His eyes widened to sheer sizes he had not seen before.

Is that a fairy?

What is it doing here?

“P-Please help!” The little blue sprite managed out as it flew desperately toward the pair of Kokiri. “T-The Great Deku Tree-”

“Great Deku Tree?” Saria repeated, raising a curious green eyebrow in response, opening her conjoined hands in response.

The little pixie gasped a small squeak as it hovered down to rest in her grip, as if restoring its energy. Both Link and Saria leaned their bodies forward to squint down at the tired form of the fairy in her hands. The pair of best friends couldn't help but very briefly exchange an unsure glance before they turned back down to face the little blue ball of light.

“He... he has called... for the one called...,” the little fairy managed out mid-gasps, clearly fatigued from earlier flying. “Link!”

The named Kokiri in question could only tilt his blonde head to the side, unsure in foundation. “M-Me?”

“Does this mean...,” Saria started as she hovered her eyes away from Link's, raising another eyebrow in curiosity. “That you're to be his... guardian fairy?”

Link's sky-blue eyes widened in response.

There was no conceivable way, surely?

“Y-Yes!” The blue fairy squeaked out before it very suddenly shot up from Saria's soft fingers to flutter directly in the wide-eyed Link's face. She nodded at him, her little blue body bobbing forward as she did so. “I... am Navi; emissary of the Great Deku Tree and I am to be your guardian fairy.”

Silence.

The dumbfounded Kokiri could only stare back blankly at the little fairy in response, unable to find the words with which to respond.

Numerous thoughts floated in and out of his head before he could pin them down with words.

How? Why? Where?

“You could at least act grateful!” Saria laughed over her shoulder at him, a light grin on her lips. Broken out of his hazy stare, Link could only blink; first at his closest companion and then, blushing, he turned his apologetic look on the newly introduced Navi. He opened up his own fingers in a similarly soft cupping embrace, wincing.

“S-Sorry...,” he apologised, grimacing from his earlier rudeness. “S-So... this isn't a prank...?”

“A... prank?” Navi parroted, her unsure tone suggesting confusion.

“Honestly Link, you're so negative all the time,” Saria chuckled as she about-turned the rest of her body to re-face him. The named youth could only turn his eyes away from hers, the truth sinking through his thin skin. “They wouldn't joke about this; I promise.” She said, this time a softer tone of voice. When he re-rose his hopeful blue eyes to re-face hers he found her leaning her head and smiling back at him.

It almost made him want to believe her.

He put on a forced smile of his own and nodded briefly before blinking his eyes down.

“I-I'm... Link,” the little Kokiri smiled tentatively. “It's... nice to meet you... Navi...”

Though he couldn't see the look behind the blue light of her bulbous body he imagined her frowning up at him in his palm.

“Are you really him?”

Taken aback, the youth could only blink back at her. He exchanged another unsure frown with the listening Saria as if for assistance.

“Y-Yes... this is Link of the Kokiri Forest Navi,” the well-liked young girl shot back in a light chuckle. “Why do you have to ask? … Again?”

“I was told he was a brave boy of the Kokiri clan...,” Navi trailed off very quietly as she stared back up at the frowning Link. “And he's not even ready...”

Seeming to refer to his current state, the youth's eyes widened in surprise when he realised he was still dressed in his pyjamas.

As if the cold sweat and bed-hair he had awoken to hadn't tipped him off already.

“Okay, come on Navi,” Saria laughed aloud as she sat up surely from her companion's bed, calling the little blue fairy on. “We'll give him time to dress.”

“B-But we're on a tight schedule; I have to-”

“Come on!”

Urged on by Saria's words, Navi gave the blushing Link a last look before flying up out of his palm and toward her new follower with a miffed huff.

Somehow, even in the most hopeful recess of his mind, Link suspected this was still a trap.

Only one way to find out...

–

2

Link rubbed at his skinny right arm with his left, wincing as he felt the curious stares of the Kokiri children all around him.

Maybe Saria was right.

They didn't seem to know that much judging by their fleeting and curious expressions. The blonde youth kept his head held low as he marched forward, opting to walk along the dirt pathway offered to him. The Kokiri standing idle outside the house he passed on his right stared over at him through his messy auburn hair. The boy's arms rested comfortably behind his head and his eyes similarly hiding behind his long auburn bangs; he seemed to stare at the marching Link. The blonde Kokiri gave his clansman a small greeting nod in obliging and a forced small smile before quickly passing him by.

It felt lonely having no real friends in the Kokiri outside of Saria...

… but he adjusted pretty well considering.

Link finally raised up his head in his frown and his azure-eyes widened in an unhealthy mixture of anxiety and concern.

Mido stood at the end of the clearing, his arms folded and clearly barring the way forward.

“What am I gonna do?”

“What's wrong?”

Navi's interjection made him turn his head up to his top right, blinking. He let his eyes wander in response, an embarrassed hue shading on his cheeks.

“What, him?” The little blue ball of life squeaked out as she turned her head to the end of the clearing, presumably watching the folded armed Mido. “You can't be serious.”

Link didn't dare respond; not vocally anyway. He turned his eyes to the ground in his saddened frown; a gesture that told Navi all she needed to know. She sighed in her high voice before hovering forward, presumably to continue on.

“Come on.”

Urged on by her words his new guardian fairy uttered, Link followed her wordlessly, a frown upon his lips. When he found himself being stared at intensely by the folded armed Mido he instinctively turned his gaze away from his.

“What are you doing here?” Mido finally spoke up, nodding his light-brown haired head up at him in a strange kind of greeting; a kind of hostile one.

A kind of greeting Link had become accustomed to with the Kokiri's alleged leader and local bully.

Just ignore it, he thought.

It's all I can do.

“We've been summoned by the Great Deku Tree,” Navi spoke up, calling the surprised boy's attention. Mido snapped his eyes up to the little blue fairy in surprise, eyes widened in a veritable display of awe.

“W-Wha-? You mean... him?” Mido finished in a low hiss, narrowing his eyes as he thrust a finger at the silent frowning Link, almost as if saying his name was a curse in and of itself.

“Well obviously!” Navi exclaimed heatedly, her impatience similarly growing. “Now let us through!”

“B-But that's-” Mido gasped on out, turning his dismay-induced facial expression on the blonde youth in question. “Mr. No Fairy...?!”

Even when he whispered the words, they still hurt.

As always however, Link made certain that he could not see this.

Please let this be over soon, he thought.

I just want to go back home.

“What's going on?”

The group of three turned their heads to find the frowning faced Saria strolling toward them, concern marring her usually pleasant expression. Link's sky-blue eyes widened in horror.

Oh no.

This will just make it worse.

“Is this true?” Mido shot his own question back, an indignant tone on his voice to match his angry expression on his face. “About him?”

Saria gained a hardened edge to her countenance in response to his tone, narrowing her eyes forward at him as she raised an emerald eyebrow. “Is what true?”

“About being summoned by-?”

“Yes.”

Mido gasped and his scowl dropped from his face, completely dumbstruck. Saria's sudden and quick confirmation backfired in the young troublemaker's face.

For the first time in his life, Link saw Mido speechless.

I can't believe my eyes, he thought.

Mido swivelled his brown-haired head over before his shock-faced expression soon switched to a hard-eyed glare of envy.

“Don't think this changes anything between us,” the Kokiri leader shot over toward the frowning Link. As he passed him, he uttered only a single sentence that made the listening blonde's spirit dampen. “You will never be one of us.”

Link's frown deepened to match his new-found sombre mood. Though Mido spoke from a place of envy and childish anger, lashing out at a potential victim, Link sensed the truth in the words of which he spoke.

“He's right. You've never been one of them.”

“Hey...”

Link tore his head up out of his meditations, blue eyes widened. A reminder of, quite possibly the only good thing in his life, made him smile.

And this time it wasn't forced.

Saria stepped forward and gently took his fingers into her own, smiling softly back at him.

“What did he say to you?”

“Nothing,” Link merely waved the matter off with a sociable chuckle and a shut-eyed smile of his own. “It's fine.”

“Okay,” the Kokiri girl soothed as she rubbed his left hand softly, smiling as she spoke further. “Before you go in there... you'll need... these.” She claimed boldly as she reluctantly let go of his grip to face one of the approaching Kokiri. His hair, though parted and curtained in a similar fashion to the curious-faced Link, was auburn as opposed to his blonde.

One of the Know-It-All brothers.

He carried with him two treasures – the Kokiri Sword and a mass-produced Deku Shield, presumably bought from the nearby Kokiri operated store.

Link could barely contain his shock at catching the sight of the incredible, fabled relic in the boy's grip. He watched him intently, spectating the small-sword, still in its sheath being sent over to the smiling Saria's grip.

“Thanks.” She shot over in an appreciative nod as she gratefully took both the Kokiri Sword and the Deku Shield from his hands.

The Know-It-All brother similarly nodded toward her before briefly smiling in Link's direction as he turned to leave the two alone.

“Here...,” Saria began, a light smile upon her face as she about-turned a final time to hand the sacred weapon and its sister shield with it. Link could hardly believe his eyes. “Take them.”

“Are you-? B-But they're so-”

Saria shook her green-haired head back at him in her soft smile to interrupt him, almost as if sensing his words before they came out. When she passed him the items in her hands and he took them he had to grip them firmly in an attempt not to drop them when he felt her suddenly rush him with a close hug. Link's eyes widened very briefly in the gasp he managed out before he, as less awkwardly as he could given his grip, returned the gesture. His initially surprised frown soon very slowly morphed into a saddened grimace.

Even after all these years, he thought...

“I still can't pay her back...”

He chose not to voice his, though true, negative opinions and kept them to himself.

He imagined it would ruin the moment.

When Saria finally pulled her body back from his she couldn't help but seemingly sniff, running her left green-sleeved arm across her nose as if to sort the problem. Link blinked at her, unsure.

Am I going away somewhere?

She reached up softly and patted down his well-curtained blonde hair, running her fingers through it lightly before allowing her hands to finally rest upon his two rosy child-like cheeks, cupping them motherly. Her lower lip trembled but in a way that Link could only barely catch; water stained the sides of her eyes and suddenly he realised she was crying.

What's going on?

“I'm so proud of you.” The little Kokiri smiled forward at him, earnestly and honestly and yet, somehow, cryptically.

Link could only stare in half-confusion, half-bewilderment as he listened. A shaky smile adorned her usually cheerful exterior as she shook her emerald-haired head at him, almost as if to dissuade him from even understanding. At last she let go of the sides of his face, letting her hands drop to her own sides before she used one of them to wipe at her eyes. As he had half-expected, her sociable smile returned and in full force.

“I'll be waiting for you,” Saria finally advised him, turning her hands to rest behind her in her smile. “Don't take too long... okay?”

~

“You and Saria are very close then?”

Link raised his blonde head up from his silent thoughts, pulled out of them by the interruption of Navi's high-toned voice.

I'll have to get used to that, he thought.

“U-Um... yeah... I guess so.” He merely answered with in a very light chuckle, his briefly lived smile going away with it. The pair continued on the winding corners of the tunnel-like alcove leading to the Great Deku Tree's area.

“Don't you have any other friends?”

Her question made his frown deepen and his eyes wander away from her inquisitive blue light.

“No,” he answered her honestly, finding it better not to lie to quite possibly the second friend he had made in his life. “Since I... was never given a guardian fairy at birth... I guess everyone else avoided me,” he admitted, his eyes turning back down as he explained his situation very briefly. “I guess I'm the odd one out.” The Kokiri youth finished, this time in a light chuckle as if to raise the mood of the current atmosphere. While Navi said nothing in response, she briefly turned her small blue body to face him in her flight before very quickly turning back.

Not the first time I imagine that'll happen, he pondered in a negative half-smile.

When the pair finally exited through the winding alcove they found themselves coming face-to-face with the one thing Link never thought he would ever face. The Kokiri's guardian and even god-like figure.

The Great Deku Tree.

“Woah...” Link managed to mouth out as he stepped forward; his Kokiri boots gave out tiny sounds by comparison. The incredible sight of the towering hardwood held an immeasurable gaze over the Kokiri Forest and its inhabitants.

It really was the guardian, he thought.

“I can't believe I'm meeting him...”

“Great Deku Tree... we're finally here!”

Navi's sudden interruption hauled Link from his incessant pondering; he watched with widened blue eyes as his similarly light-blue guardian fairy lifted itself into the sky, as if to face its former master.

“Ah... Navi... thou hast returned...,” the Deku Tree finally spoke, his voice loud and yet soft somehow. It reverberated across the clearing they stood in surprisingly delicately. “There is very little time left, young foster so please; listen to my words carefully.”

Unable to find the words with which to respond to his people's god-like figure, he could only nod in his light frown.

“I am so deathly sorry... thy slumber these past moons have thus been restless and full of nightmares.”

Link's eyes widened in recognition.

How did he-?

“The gears of destiny, that once roared in the days of your ancestors, are beginning to creak back to life once more,” the Deku Tree ex-positioned to the wide-eyed youth. “Verily, thou hast felt it I imagine...”

Link could only nod, a worried look beginning to mar his soft complexion.

“You are the only one I can this, young Link; please, forgive me for what I am about to request of you,” the Great Deku Tree apologised, his soft voice booming tenderly across the walls of the clearing. “I need you to help me.”

“H-Help you?”

“Yes... for some time now I have been cursed... by one seeking the forest's sacred Spiritual Stone; the Kokiri's Emerald.”

Link could only stare in shock.

There was such a thing as a 'Spiritual Stone'?

What was it for?

“I need you, nay, Hyrule needs you my son,” the Deku Tree requested at last. Link watched him speak, in spite of his closed wooden mouth. “Dost thou have courage to undertake this task?”

The little Kokiri could barely believe his ears.

He was basically telling him.

I can't say no, he thought.

“But... I can't do this...”

Fighting every urge to turn and run, Link merely nodded and opened his mouth to respond. “Y-Yes...”

Somehow, Link heard a fatherly smile within the voice of the Great Deku Tree. “Then enter, brave Link and thou too, Navi,” he spoke and, as if on cue, the bottom half of his mouth-like area began to drop down. “Navi... thou must aid your new kin and, Link, when Navi speaks... listen well to her words of wisdom.”

CLUNK

Knocking the terrified youth out of his transfixed gaze, the hardwood of the Deku Tree's mouth slamming the ground made him wince. Dead ahead was the inky blackness of the inside of the Great Deku Tree. If it wasn't for Navi's call to action, Link would have remained there for who knows how long.

“Come on Link... let's go!”


	2. Unwelcome Discovery

Chapter 2: Unwelcome Discovery  
Extracting the Contamination Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Title Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Hopeless Desire" - Final Fantasy X OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"The Awful Night" - Dynasty Warriors V OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Hunter of the Dark" - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST. Scene 3 (First Half).  
"Boss Clear" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

Link of the Kokiri Forest.

An outcast in the very place he has lived for the past eleven years of his young life for, in his youthful life throughout the forest, he has lived without a guardian fairy. In his time throughout, his one and only friend – a popular Kokiri by the name of Saria – raises him, looks after him and even bonds with him. Though eternally grateful for his close companion's support, the young Link's world is shaken awake by the appearance of a new guardian fairy by the name of 'Navi'.

Having been sent by the Kokiri Forest's god-like figure, the 'Great Deku Tree', Navi informs Link of his sudden summoning by the forest spirit. Though unwilling to believe it in his negative fears, he makes the leap forward and is requested by the supernatural tree to enter his very domain to end a curse put on him. Though just a boy and one with a notorious reputation for terrible cowardice Link, left with virtually no option left, chooses to undertake the Great Deku Tree's quest.

This is the beginning of a seven year long odyssey...

\--

Scene 1

Darkness.

That was the first thing that went through Link's mind when entering the Great Deku Tree's mouth.

"Link!"

A bright blue light made him wince in response to its sudden brilliance, as if waking up for the first time in a ten hour nap. He brought his small child-like arms up as if in defence before realising the light was his new guardian fairy; Navi.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah...," he nodded in response, his sky-blue eyes slowly and finally adjusting to the light his little pixie provided. Now with a decent look over his surroundings, he narrowed his eyes forward and scanned them. He found a far off clearing with numerous platforms laid before him; one with strange amber-shaded vines and a second to his far-left containing a ladder to be climbed. In the centre of the area lay what seemed to be a spider-like web of all things. Link gulped down a load of saliva as he blinked down at it, wincing; thoughts of a horrifying arachnid-like creature creating that made him shudder, a cold feeling running down his spine.

He raised his blonde-haired head up to catch the sight of numerous small plant-like lifeforms dotted around the area; perhaps around three of them. His eyes narrowed at them all suspiciously.

I remember those, he thought.

A few months to a year ago he was once out on one of his many excursions with Saria in the Lost Woods and, while there, discovered these things. In his rampant curiosity, Link opted not to listen to her wise advice and bent toward one of them to inspect it.

In the attempt, he nearly lost his arm.

Since then he had grown wary of any flora within the Lost Woods or, indeed, the Kokiri Forest itself.

What was it Saria called them?

"Deku... Baba...?"

"How did you know that?"

Navi's sudden interruption caused him to widen his similarly cerulean eyes up to face her; she hovered over him curiously, her delicate wings flapping very slowly. Though he could not see her face behind the bright, blue bulbous body she inhabited, he imagined her frowning down at him.

"Aha...," Link laughed half-nervously, rubbing the back of his green capped head as he did. "A friend of mine told me all about them."

"Saria huh?"

Dead on the mark, he thought.

He only smiled and nodded weakly in response as he turned his blue eyes downward, his tone a strange sense of melancholic.

"Yeah... Saria." He murmured back wistfully in his light smile. Navi's brief period of silence descended down upon the pair like a heavy footfall, leaving them wordless for a small duration. Finally however, the guardian fairy resumed her mission and re-opened her mouth.

"Come on!" She called as she turned her bouncy flight toward the vine wall ahead of them. Link briefly followed her via his eyesight before double-taking in the two Deku Babas on either side of the wall, suspicious. He also eyed the spider webbed hole directly in the middle of the wooden-like dungeon.

Maybe I shouldn't step over that, he thought.

So then what to do about the Deku Babas?

"This could be a good opportunity!"

Link's eyebrows shot up, almost as if suddenly sensing danger. Navi's interruption, though laced in seeming positivity, alarmed the little Kokiri.

"How about you test out that Kokiri Sword that Saria gave to you?"

Oh no, he thought.

Though the Deku Babas both remained relatively harmless in their dormant states, Link's anxiety grew regardless when Navi's suggestion reached his ears.

"U-Um s-sure..." He managed out in a concurring nod. Reaching up for the sheathed small-sword on his left shoulder the blonde boy fought back the urge to display his concern with a wince.

SHIIING

The small-sword made a forceful, tough sound as it was drew from its similarly small scabbard on the Kokiri's back, shining in the darkness of the cavern. Link forced down the lump of saliva that had gathered in the back of his mouth roughly, scratching his throat as it descended down to the pit of his stomach. His nerves inside were not kind; they tormented him endlessly as he slowly and, very carefully, approached the carnivorous plan.

Finally reacting to his presence, the Deku Baba growled as it came violently to life; with its own disgusting froth spitting from its mouth in all directions it suddenly lunged forward at him. Link's sky-blue eyes shot wide open before, instinctively, he brought his right arm up and the small Deku Shield Saria had so gracefully given him not mere minutes ago.

SMACK

Surprised by the little plant's impressive force behind its stationary strike, the Kokiri youth could only gasp as he was sent skidding half a mere millimetre; not far but far enough to send a message.

I can kill you if you're not careful, it said silently somehow.

Link's facial expression grimaced as he stared back at the seemingly scowling seedling.

I'm not cut out for this, he thought.

Why me?

"Come on! Fight back! Don't just stand there!"

Navi's umpteenth interruption made the listening boy frown deeper.

She's beginning to grate on my nerves, he pondered, briefly annoyed.

"Don't focus on her. Just do this. You can do it."

He tried to prove his half-measure of positivity by leaning his shaking body forward and stabbed his Kokiri Sword forward. The attack was poorly handled but struck true – the Deku Baba drew back its viridian head from its earlier assault with an accompanying squeal of pain, seemingly injured. Link's own child-like cerulean eyes widened and he couldn't help but draw his effort-pulled frown into a slow-growing prideful smile.

"I... I hurt it!"

The Deku Baba, with barely any warning, (as before) suddenly charged forward a second time.

Link's eyes widened yet again but, this time, in a show of shock.

Its slavering, carnivorous mouth managed to catch the youth's exposed sword-arm; the Kokiri orphan's breath caught in the back of his throat and, though he attempted to back-dash in evasion at the last second, the Baba was far too quick for him.

"Link!"

CLANG

Navi's call hovered past him; he scrunched his eyes shut in sudden, stinging pain. The poor boy used his free right fingers to grasp at his now-injured pale left arm, his right forearm still holding up the Deku Shield via its attached ulna grip. Not even noticing his weapon spinning out of his grip, his left palm remained opened in a claw-like formation as if to display the very agony which he endured. Thankfully now within a safe distance from the similarly wounded Deku Baba, Link opened one eye and forced a light smile through his sweat as he re-faced the flying Navi.

"I-I'm okay!" He called back over in response, his claim a half-lie.

Am I though, he thought.

His right eye re-opened to join his left and they wandered down to inspect his fresh lesion; marks of sharp teeth were dotted around the underside of his left forearm, blood very slowly seeping out from them.

Overall it didn't look too bad.

But it would probably already be infected.

Have to finish the job first, he thought.

Make certain it can't do it again.

The summoned outcast attempted to harden his concerned frown and bent down to pick up his previously spinning Kokiri Sword. Grabbing it with his infected left arm he gripped it tightly this time.

Come on, he thought, his young blood rising to a boil.

You might be my first real opponent and I might just be me...

… but I'm better than you think.

He let his ruminations drive him on in his slow stride forward. When Navi caught his seemingly heedless and foolish decision she opened her mouth for the second time to voice her fear. However, before she even could, her eyes widened beneath her cute little frame as she watched the suddenly agile boy suddenly leap to his right in swift evasion. The Deku Baba lunged at him as he approached just as they both expected and, acting on further instinct, Link finished his counter-attack with an assaulting jump attack. His effort-filled yell accompanied the excessive force with which he input into the small-sword he brandished so poorly beforehand.

The attack, this time, was well-strung and true.

The Deku Baba gave one final squeak of defeat and its body vanished from sheer existence, pulling back into the marshy, soft ground. A notable satisfying sound of finality excreted from the carnivore and, as it did, an item visibly spat up from its expiration.

Silence.

Link remained in his knelt down pose, his blue eyes narrowed and his two hands both gripped on the hilt of his descended small-sword.

"Wow..." Navi mouthed out, visibly impressed by the display of effort. "I didn't think you had it in you."

Satisfied by his new guardian fairy's words of praise, Link couldn't help but let a genuine smile cross his rosy features as he slowly drew his body back up to a standing stance.

"Th-Than-" he began in his smile before double-taking down to his lower left, light-blonde eyebrows rising up with his new discovery. Navi slowly hovered forward, also curious, tracing his gaze, only to find the source of his oh-so-curious stare. "What is-?"

"Oh, right," the little blue pixie began as she briefly hovered over the youth's green-garbed shoulder. "That's a Deku Nut," she introduced as she nodded her bulbous body down toward it. Link, at first, exchanged his blinking glance with her before resuming his gaze down on the seed. "It's mainly used as a diversionary tactical weapon – it creates a blinding flash that can allow you to escape if you're being chased."

"Ohhh..." Link murmured on out as he tilted his frowning head down at the little dark-brown shaded nut below him.

That would come in very handy, he thought to himself.

"They can also be used to open up an enemy's defences by temporarily stunning them," Navi wisely advised. "You'd be surprised how useful they can really be for being just a little seed."

"Huh..."

You can say that again, he thought, before soon bending down to pick up his very first Deku Nut.

~

Resisting the urge to just turn around and leave Link had, by now, descended deep into the dungeon of the Deku Tree's insides. Having finally discovered an incredible wooden invention that allowed this progress, Navi deemed it 'the Fairy Slingshot'.

Seemingly an invention crafted eons ago by the Great Deku Tree himself for use in defence. While it lacked the destructive power of a traditional projectile such as an arrow it contained enough strength to send any attackers packing.

A fitting weapon for the Kokiri.

While utilising this Fairy Slingshot, Link delved so deep into the Great Deku Tree's insides that he discovered some unsettling revelations.

Having descended down to what seemed to be far bottom-left of the interior of the dungeon, Link could only stare in half-shock, half-horror at the sight that lay before him.

Two ruined spherical flesh-like oval shapes lay on the ground not far from his current position. Shaking his Kokiri small-sword of Skulltula guts that has gathered from his earlier dispatching, he slowly shook it before soon sheathing the small-sword back into its scabbard. His eyes watched the two egg-like pieces laying in the centre of the arena-like area, unsure and wary.

Strangely... they looked dead.

What could have caused such a thing?

And more importantly what were they?

Even more curious was a corpse laying next to the poor pair; Link's eyes widened for what felt like the umpteenth time and he held back from gasping as he caught sight of it.

A fallen and, similarly ruined, corpse.

Instinctively, Link brought up his free left hand to rest on his mouth, his eyes wincing in their narrowing at the horrific sight before him. Seemingly defiled in such a way as the eggs were – almost as if they were spoiled like meat – the cadaver seemed to be like its Skulltula brethren; arachnid in nature.

It looked like something out of a horror story that Mido would tell around a campfire to scare him.

Though small in stature its body suggested that of a predator, even if a larvae; its two legs lay with multiple lesions and what seemed to be cuts across its body.

Could be injuries in battle?

Or maybe even just rot...

Link's hardening thoughts were seemingly confirmed when he caught sight of its crusty and similarly ruined eye in the centre of its poor lifeless body.

In spite of the fact it would undoubtedly be a ruthless enemy... the little Kokiri couldn't help but feel pity for the fallen creature.

"You okay?"

The little blonde boy was yanked back out of his ever-constant pondering by his companion, Navi; he blinked, initially surprised by her sudden interjection. Soon however, he regained his ever patient smile and nodded back at her.

"Good, let's keep moving," the little blue fairy called on out as she about-turned mid-flight to continue hovering forward. "The faster we do this, the better; we need to help the Great Deku Tree."

He couldn't agree more.

And yet... somehow, he thought...

A dreading feeling filled the very telling reflections within his head.

The little Kokiri, however, picked up his pace regardless to follow his fairy faithfully, frowning forward forthwith as he did so. When the pair turned a corner to approach what looked to be another blocked path – a Skulltula's web. This time he didn't even need Navi's help; with an eager turn of his eyes he clocked lit torch lying next to the web, almost as if a hint in and of itself. Reaching into his supplies for a long Deku Stick, the blonde youth allowed his tiny tongue poke on out out of his mouth in a careful display of concentrated effort; he leaned the long wooden stick toward the controlled flame.

Navi about-turned in her flight, opening her mouth. "Link we have to-" she began before seemingly widening her little eyes at him. She watched him set the Deku Stick he carried alight and held back from gasping aloud in awe. Acting further on his own instinct, the young Link pulled his now alight Deku Stick and kept his cerulean eyes narrowed as he moved carefully toward the Skulltula web. Leaning the alight twig carefully forward he winced as it finally turned the web alight in a brilliant show of flames, red flashing across the watching pairs' faces.

Wrenching his own attention away from the incredible sight however, he tossed the lit Deku Stick down to the ground before stamping on it thusly with his brown boot, eyes narrowed. As expected, the small but dangerous fire was successfully put out and Link couldn't help but smile, satisfied at his effort. Though he didn't turn to face the silent Navi he imagined her staring at him.

It filled him with a quiet sense of pride.

"U-Um that was..."

Link's eyebrow rose and he turned his head, his attention finally gained.

"I was just about to tell you to do that." The disgruntled little guardian fairy muttered as it bounced forward in its slow flight. Link's initially prideful smile dropped in response and he couldn't help but sigh through his nose as they walked toward the small crawl-able hole.

So is this what she's going to be like, he thought.

"Let's hope this is over sooner rather than later then."

When the pair eventually emerged from the little space Link took quick note of his immediate surroundings; a large block containing a strange symbol. He narrowed his blue eyes at it as he examined it from the distance he stood at, finding it odd.

It looked like... a snake staring at him somehow.

Three dormant Deku Baba lay in eerie silence next to the Skulltula web in the centre of the platform, almost as if keeping watch in some way. Link's eyes narrowed down at it.

All right, he thought.

That's where I have to go.

But how to...?

Turning his eye on the large dark-brown block to his left he strode on over and, without even a word to Navi, began to push his small arms into the block. With effort, the youth grunted as he barely managed to drive the stone off the platform.

THUD

With that, Link put on a brief smile of satisfaction; clocking the lit torch ahead he dropped down to the fallen block below him and pulled out another Deku Stick.

"Wait, Link!"

In spite of Navi's ever-concerned calls the little Kokiri proved to plan ahead and, leaping across with a lit twig, Link very carefully hovered the stick downwards. Barely touching the sticky Skulltula web with its fire he immediately pulled the twig back and, just as before, stuck his Kokiri boot down on it to put the controlled flame out. Craning his neck forward, Link raised a light blonde eyebrow at the drop below him, curious.

It didn't look too far.

Indeed, he could even spot what seemed to be a pool of water that could break his fall.

Of all things though; to get wet?

Stop focusing on trivial things, he thought.

You have to help the Deku Tree.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Link turned his initially curious frown up to match Navi's similarly inquisitive azure light before he finally put on a smile and nodded up at her. As if prodded on by her words, the little Kokiri youth set his courage and leapt forward. Scrunching his eyes shut tight, he held in his breath as he lay his two small arms to his side, as if to help break his fall somehow.

SPLASH

This time he opened his mouth in a wide-eyed gasp; the cold water hit him like a slap in the face. Though shivering he forced his body forward to swim ahead using his arms and legs, soon making it to the marshy ground's surface as before.

I hate swimming, he thought.

As if to respond to his inner ruminations, when he ascended from the pool of water, his eyes widened at his next discovery.

Three Deku Scrubs sat in three similarly separate patches of grass.

Almost as if sensing his very presence, the trio of Scrubs shot up with similar-sounding squeaks, looking around for the interruption to their peace before soon double-taking in the Kokiri's direction.

Oh no, he thought.

Reaching for his Deku Shield, Link instinctively bounced the first Deku Nut the Scrub in the middle shot at him first.

SMACK

Link's eyes widened in surprise when he found its reaction a curious one indeed; it gave one squeak of pain before suddenly shooting up from its patch of grass. Covered in what seemed to be a shade of blue to signify its stature in stun, Link's eyes narrowed at it; it continually squeaked now, as if to confirm its temporary defeat.

What now?

The immediate threat of the other two Deku Scrubs made the boy roll to his right in evasion, gasping as he did so. Though he evaded the first Deku Nut from the left, the right one made its mark and hit his shield. He grunted as he knelt down, sent drifting backward across the marshy ground. He grit his teeth as he watched the nut fly back toward the unwary Scrub.

SMACK

A second time Link was treated to a stunning sight indeed; the second Deku Scrub leapt up, shaded in blue, to squeak continually to signify its defeat just as the last one did. The little Kokiri narrowed his eyes at the pair before slowly about-turning his green-capped head on the last one, his body leant to the side as he did.

Was this a password of some kind?

"Link!"

Navi's late call floated in and out of his small, pointed ears; as before, the leaning Link shot up his Deku Shield to bounce back the third Deku Nut.

SMACK

This time he approached the Deku Scrub with the similarly flying Deku Nut, blue eyes narrowed. When the little shrub was struck by its own attack, it squeaked in pain before suddenly leaping up out of its home and running off, presumably for safety. Opting to prevent its return to form, Link kept his eyes narrowed as he stepped onto the patch of grass it used before, standing guard. Navi widened her eyes behind her bulbous body as she watched before slowly hovering over to join him.

When the Deku Scrub finally returned however, Link raised a curious eyebrow as it approached, presumably to speak to him.

This'll be a first, he thought.

"How did you know of our secret?! How irritating!"

It had a strange squeaking mouse-like voice that suited its similarly small constitution.

"Secret...?"

"It's so annoying I'm going to reveal the secret of Queen Gohma to you!"

Link's eyes widened.

Queen Gohma?

"In order to administer the coup de grâce to Queen Gohma, strike her while she's stunned."

Is this thing lying to me, he thought.

Before he could even question the strangely talkative Deku Scrub for further answers however, it spoke one final time.

"Oh, Queenie...," it began wistfully before squeaking one last time as it hopped away in comical retreat. "Sorry about that!"

Link was left staring away after the running Scrub, his ocean eyes narrowed half-curiously, half-unsure.

"What do you think?"

Navi's sudden interruption made him raise his eyebrows as he turned to his left to face her above him before soon sighing through his nose as he re-faced the front.

"I don't know...," he thought aloud as he watched the Deku Scrub retreat into the marshy ground, never to be seen again. "For all I know it could be..."

"Lying?"

Link couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Y-Yeah..."

"Well before you think any of that... check this."

For the second time he raised a curious eyebrow skyward as he about-turned on his brown boot; finding his guardian fairy hovering over the wall next to one of the patches of grass he blinked at her. Soon however he traced her stare.

A single human skull lay on the ground below what seemed to be a very crude series of scratching against the wall. His attention grabbed, Link narrowed his eyes at it and strode ahead slowly to frown forward at it.

TWENTY THREE IS NUMBER ONE

GOHMA – NO ESCAPE

Link's eyes widened and he couldn't help but silently gulp to himself. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he compared both the skull and the legible words written on the wall.

If I walk through that door, he thought, his eyes very slowly wandering over to the tan vertical door to his left.

Will I end up like that too?

"I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about," Navi spoke up, almost as if hearing his silent concerns and fears. Her cute blue light flitted over, leaving sparks in her wake as she rejoined him at his side. "I mean I've heard worse."

Link almost spluttered, unable to believe the little pixie's words. "Worse?"

"Well... yeah; just stories from the Great Deku Tree, y'know." She clarified, bouncing very lightly in the air with her words. The listening Kokiri opted to leave the matter alone, merely shaking his wet blonde head in response before finally approaching the last door in the dungeon.

I know why she said that, he thought as he stared hard at the door.

Harder than he'd stared at anything.

"She thinks I'll give up."

His thoughts were almost confirmed when he discovered the usually talkative guardian fairy remaining silent, watching him as he stood gaining his resolve.

She knows I'm faltering, he pondered.

The youth shook his head.

If you can do this...

… you can see Saria again.

Thoughts of his friend – his only real friend – drove him on. Not Navi. Not doing a good deed.

Not even helping the Great Deku Tree.

I'm a horrible person, he thought.

But it doesn't matter.

"Either way... I'm gonna do this."

–

2

The vertical door slammed shut loudly behind him as he entered; Link narrowed his eyes forward at the marshy ground left before him.

A narrow, small corridor marked off with a small hill, almost as if a warning of some kind.

When he stepped forward in his normal careful manner, the little Kokiri scanned the marshy ground beneath him and the fog that encircled it.

This must be the heart of the Great Deku Tree, Link thought.

His small, pointed ears soon picked up the echoing sound of something scratching against a wall, almost as if climbing it somehow.

"Link do you hear t-?"

SCRAPE-SCRAPE-SCRAPE

"Yeah...," the boy murmured out, his blue eyes scanning the area around him. It looked every much like a battle arena; only four pillars stood in symmetrical sense before him, allowing him room to move and breathe. His eyes, instinctively, were drawn up to catch movement at the corner of his field of vision.

And when he rose his eyes skyward they widened.

What looked to be a spider-like creature – perhaps a huge version of the smaller larvae he encountered – stopped its climbing the ceiling to turn its one eye on him. The dark-green coloured pupil of its eye shot to its right as if to look for any more interruptions to its rest and then to its left before, very soon, ending at its centre. When it did, the pupil seemed to roll up into the back of its eye before finally ascending back into place; it blinked at the horror-expressed Link, almost as if waiting for him to move.

SCRAPE-SCRAPE-SCRAPE

Pulled out of his staring reverie, Link took an instinctive step back, his blue eyes widened as he watched the Skulltula-like creature suddenly drop down to the ground. The fog around their ankles shot up between them and Link gasped as he rose his two free arms to form a defensive 'X' around his face, wincing at the huge form of his new opponent before him.

CRASH

The ground seemed to almost shake in response to its deceptively massive size; Link's fears began to grow when he found himself staring dead ahead at its monstrous form. What seemed to be its two arms lifted up into the air as it screeched down at him, covered in what seemed to be an armour of some sense. A third appendage in the centre towards it back seemed to be defenceless for some strange reason. Regardless of studying it however, Link found his fear and apprehension growing at the second.

There is no possible way I can stop this thing, he thought.

"I will die here."

~

SCREECH

Link gasped as he suddenly rolled his body to his sharp right in evasion – the huge spider-like monster slashed at him with one of its long arms. He skidded across the foggy ground and his eyes snapped 'round to his far-left to catch it leaping up high into the sky after him.

"In the name of the Great Deku Tree...! Why is so quick?!"

In spite of his thoughts, Link gasped a second time as he gave yet another evasive roll, this time dead ahead. He just barely managed to avoid the arachnid's plunging attack; when it crash-landed, its claw stuck deep into the foggy ground below it and it growled angrily as it attempted to pull itself from it. Link, meanwhile, continued to gasp for air as he flattened his skinny body against one of the four pillars in the room, having found a hiding place.

"Link!"

Navi's hissing, quietened whisper made him very suddenly snap his eyes in her direction to his top right, still listening for the growling beast.

"It looks as if that's the reason the Great Deku Tree's sick!" The little fairy claimed as she hovered just above his shoulder. Link allowed his blue eyes to scan slowly back over to stare at the still hampered aphid. Sweat ran down his brow as he watched it, a special kind of anxiety gained from watching it. "Gohma; if I remember correctly... the only time it's vulnerable... is when its eye is red!"

Its eye?

I should remember that, he thought.

As if acting on the pairs' quietened words however, Gohma finally and suddenly yanked its claw out. Link's eyes widened in apprehension as he watched it scan its green eye around in presumable search for the youth; unable to find him, it instead opted to turn around and march along the ground toward the wall.

"What is it doing...?"

SCRAPE-SCRAPE-SCRAPE

Along the wall it stuck its claws deep across the surface before, finally, reaching its much-loved ceiling. The scared little Kokiri watched it unsurely and carefully, his brow furrowed.

"Link, I think it's-!"

Almost as if listening to the very pair, Gohma dropped its third appendage down to face the ground below it and its green eye soon turned red, rolling up to the back of its head.

Is it straining in effort for something?

Oh no, Link thought, his mind soon realising what Navi was trying to warn him about.

First one, then two and, finally, three eggs all dropped down to the foggy ground safely. Link's eyes widened when he caught them and how familiar they looked to the ruined ones he once encountered.

What in the name of the Lost Woods are those?

As if acting on his very innate fears, the eggs very quickly hatched and very small versions of what seemed to be Gohma itself leaped out of them.

"Oh Saria...," Link murmured out as he watched the Gohma children immediately scan the area, presumably in search for him. "Help me..."

They almost seemed to sniff the air of all things; catching up on his scent, all three of the Gohma larvae snapped their heads in his direction.

Oh no, he thought.

"Link!"

CRASH

Queen Gohma herself smashed the ground in the centre between her babies, turning her head in the larvae's direction. The three Gohma Larvae took off with surprising speed for two legged creatures; all toward the pillar where Link hid behind. His mind jumped between leaping out and making a desperate attack or just simply running; the poor frightened Kokiri couldn't come to an arrangement.

"Link! You have to do something!"

Navi's constant reminders didn't help any either.

Finally, the spider-like babies made their destination clear; two of them poked their large eyes 'round to stare at the similarly wide-eyed boy. With little to no fear, they both bounded at him from his two sides; Link gasped as he jumped forward in sudden movement to avoid it. The two Gohma Larvae squealed as they smashed painfully against one another, seemingly incapacitating them both.

At least that's two dealt with, he thought.

As if to laugh at his efforts however, a third larva poked its head 'round the corner and, by the time it did, the Queen herself smashed the ground on his left and the pillar's right.

Two sides blocked.

Nice, he thought sarcastically.

With very little option left, Link finally unsheathed his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, blue eyes watching the pair of spiders carefully. The third larva was first to move, ever eager to devour its prey; it leapt for him but, acting quickly, Link managed to spin around in half-evasion, half-counter-attack. His eyes narrowed as he did so; a horizontal slash rending the air (and the poor baby's single eye) as his boots glided across the ground in an agile fashion. The little Gohma Larva could only squeak out once in what seemed to be a pained effort as it fell to the ground.

Link watched it carefully breathing its last.

He had killed Deku Baba before and the odd plant... but this was the first time he had actively killed something like this.

That felt... good, he thought.

Suddenly he felt very guilty for his thinking.

SCREECH

Link's eyes widened out of his reverie; he snapped them 'round to find the Queen Gohma herself glaring over at him in what seemed to be hatred for what it had witnessed.

"Mommy's very angry..."

The large arachnid leapt for him, left claw held back; though he attempted to back-dash in evasion it seemed to anticipate that and chased on after him.

Its speed was incredible for its size, he thought.

SMASH

Link gasped as his vision was assaulted by flying dirt, kicked up by the Queen's left clawed arm; it used its right to collide roughly with his raised Deku Shield. He gasped from the sudden strength she commanded; enough even to knock the sturdy wooden armour from his grip; Link's eyes widened as he was felled to the ground on his back. He reached out with his now free right arm to catch it flying away from him vainly.

CRASH

The little Kokiri held back from screaming as he swerved his blonde-haired head back 'round to stare up. The large arachnid pinned him down with its incredible size and, finding only his hands and arms moveable, Link struggled in frightened futility. Gohma screeched what seemed to be for the umpteenth time except, this time, it leaned down and placed its eye close to his face as if to further intimidate the youth. Link choked as he swerved his head away from its confrontational gaze, his eyes still watching it carefully. He could only stare however, his eyes slowly widening as he watched its front body open up to reveal a mouth; a horrifying set of jagged sharp teeth, covered in dripping drool.

It was like looking into the future somehow.

His body froze and, even though only his lower half of his body was paralysed, he couldn't move. His eyes remained widened as he stared directly into the maw of the beast overlooking him.

This is it, he thought.

This is exactly how I will die.

"Just like I thought when I first walked in..."

A spark of blue made him snap out of his fixated stare however. Almost forgetting about his very predicament both Link and his attacker found themselves staring at the flying blue spark that interrupted their exchange. When he realised it was Navi, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth to call on the little blue fairy.

"N-No! Navi!"

Navi darted in and out of Gohma's vision and, using her extra arm to swipe at the quick little pixie. Endlessly Navi seemingly easily evaded the narrow-eyed Gohma and, finally with her patience at its end, the armoured Skulltula-like monster suddenly shot its open jaw forward and clamped her jagged teeth shut over the fast-flying Navi's form. Her blue light went extinct almost immediately and, when it did, Link's own similarly blue eyes widened.

–

3

GROWL...

SMASH

Queen Gohma widened its one good eye, green and all, at the sudden increase of power. The parasitic form watched the once defenceless boy it had been assaulting naught but moments ago; with a new look on his face he slammed his two small fists against the marshy, foggy ground. With strength that even he didn't seem to know he'd had, the little Kokiri stared darkly over at the spider-like creature as he marched slowly over.

Gohma's one eye widened when it caught an aura of what seemed to be power of Aegir origins coursing and visibly encircling his body. The blonde boy's initially hard-frowning face slowly curled into a light low smirk. His normally calm oceanic eyes were now an oppressive, antagonistic scarlet.

Though a predator by nature, Gohma couldn't help but feel unwary even at the sight of this new threat.

"Shin'ozo... Tomete Kureru..." Link finally spoke since his recent change; his voice had noticeably changed alongside the sudden strange strength increase; a strange almost demonic-like filter to it. Gohma listened, mainly with its body, as a spider would and couldn't believe the words with which he spoke.

Words of the fabled Sainted Three.

Words which, should by now, be extinct along with them.

What did they mean, exactly?

'Violence... is who I am'.

Fear within Gohma grew.

How could this be the same boy? The same one she had pinned down with her limbs so easily. The same Kokiri she had easily turned predator-to-prey for.

The mighty Queen didn't dare back down however – it narrowed its one emerald-green eye at him before suddenly screeching as it rose up its armoured arms at him threateningly. As it half-expected, the newly low-smirking Link merely continued his inevitable slow march forward, his aura of Aegir eating up the fog that curled 'round his brown boots.

Undeterred, Gohma growled once as she shot her left arm down to attack with, her warnings finished with.

SMASH

The watching Link shot up his small left arm and, seemingly disobeying physics itself, the very aura of power he inhabited blocked the spider's spiked arm. Queen Gohma's eye widened in alarm, watching the grinning Link broaden both his open-mouth smirk and his own eyes, as if almost to silently speak back to the staring Gohma.

Look at the difference between us now, the look said.

"HISSATSU!"

With a single effort-filled push, Link temporarily dropped his grin to smash his right fist directly into the screeching Gohma's eye.

SLAM

The former predator was sent careering through the air at a record pace – almost unwatchable. When it collided into one of the many pillars around the battle chamber, stone and rock dropped on top of the fallen creature and it seemed to struggle underneath it. Link, still pulsing with his aura of Aegir took his march toward the fallen creature slow and deliberate. Tossing an air-rolling Deku Nut into the air, the new form of the hard-faced Link began to cock his head to the side in his gradual-growing grin. Eventually, as if acting on instinct, the rubble around the pillar exploded in a magnificent show of rocks and fire.

SCREECH

Queen Gohma emerged, as before, this time seemingly furious with him. It stomped over the fallen debris before it to similarly march over to stand over the little Kokiri imposingly. Link's expression did not falter; even in the face of a much larger opponent. When its eye turned crimson red in its hardened stare, Link allowed the Deku Nut he tossed continually into the air to finally drop to the ground.

Time slowed down for the pair; Gohma's jagged teethed mouth screamed at the blonde youth hatefully and Link merely stared back in his toothy smirk.

FLASH

Gohma let out another squeal but this time of pain; the Deku Nut had landed and successfully stun the spider-like creature. It fell painfully to its rear, all limbs following it and its eye rolling around frantically as if in desperate search for something. Link chuckled lowly in a suggestive tone as he reached on his back for his weapon – at last – before tossed it expertly into the air and catching it to ready it.

Finally prepared to finish the job, the second side of the little Kokiri turned his grin into a hideous open-mouthed one, full with a murderous sense of glee as he shot the Kokiri Sword forward in a deft stab attack, coated in fire Aegir.

"Die!" He called out, finally speaking common tongue since his strange change. "MESSATSU!

~

Gohma let out a small series of pained and final screeches as it leapt its body up; a last and final act of instinct before, at last, it dropped to the ground. Link watched the blue fire that invariably engulfed the creature hungrily, his head held high in his contrastingly low grin. A small cough made the murderous little Kokiri widen his newly crimson eyes down at the dying and vanishing corpse of Gohma.

What was that, he thought.

As if to respond to his silent questions a little blue fairy leapt up from inside the fiery corpse and, almost as if in reaction, Link's scarlet eyes widened.

"That was horrible!" The little fairy exclaimed, seemingly a female voice, coughing as it shot up into the air. "And all to help you!"

When the newly freed and reawakened Navi turned her vision down to her new companion, she could only stare in uncertainty. Link dropped to his knees, gripping his head in a light gasp.

"Are-Are you all right?" She asked, this time much more softly as she hovered down to his level, her earlier annoyance seemingly vanished. When Link grunted once and re-raised his head up to open his eyes again and face her, his blue eyes stared back at her.

"Y-Yeah... I think so...," he murmured on out before he turned his eyes around the area, almost as if searching for something. "W-What... what happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me!"

Link blinked as he swerved his head back 'round to stare unsurely at his guardian fairy, now bouncing back into the air as she usually did.

"Look at all this! You must have put Queen Gohma through the ringer!" She exclaimed in a strange sense of pride, her blue light focusing on the fallen debris of the pillar behind them. Link about-turned and widened his oceanic eyes at it in shock.

"There's no way I did that, surely?"

And yet there it was, almost as if to counter his very thoughts.

Maybe it was Gohma that did it?

So then how did I beat her?

So many questions... so little memory.

"I'm very proud of you!" She exclaimed as she flitted down to his examining eyes. "For a minute there I honestly thought we were both going to expire but you really pulled through!" She squeaked further in his unsure face. "I only wish I could have seen it..."

When she spoke, his eyes almost instinctively hovered back over to stare at the destruction at the pillar on his left. A chill ran up his spine as he watched it.

Maybe it was better you didn't, he thought silently to himself.

"Come on!" Navi exclaimed a third time, bouncing forward toward the artificial blue light that materialised before them. "Let's go back to see the Great Deku Tree!"


	3. Horror in Hyrule; Never-ending Struggle

Chapter 3: Horror in Hyrule; Never-ending Struggle  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Title Theme" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Creation of Hyrule" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"Hyrule Field" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3 (First Half).  
"Hyrule Field (Night)" - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).  
"Pledge of Demon" - Yakuza 0 OST. Scene 4 (First Half).

\--

"You are the only one I can ask of this..."

Indeed, in the Great Deku Tree's vast wisdom, it would appear that through his selection in choosing the outcast and cowardly Link for his task, a great revelation has occurred. Not only have Link and his new guardian fairy shot past any previous expectations, they have went above and beyond and have overcame all obstacles lying within.

Navi and Link both have proven themselves to shoulder the burden of weight that the Great Deku Tree has planned.

However...

Only during the final exchange with the contamination inside the Kokiri god did Link reveal a new power...

… A new power that the tree himself shall soon elaborate on.

\--

Scene 1

"Well done... Link..."

Link gasped himself awake; the Great Deku Tree's deep but calming voice pulled him out of his reverie. The dull sound of the light-blue warp that had seemed to bring him back to the Kokiri Forest soon hummed out, leaving only him, Navi and the Kokiri's god.

"Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage...," the tree spoke calmly and slowly. Link turned his blue eyes skyward to face the forest spirit. "I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes..."

"T-Thank you... Great Deku Tree b-but I-"

"Now I have yet more to tell thee, wouldst thou listen..."

Though the noble spirit interrupted him, Link found himself surprised otherwise.

What more could there be?

He exchanged an unsure shake of his head with Navi before finally re-facing the hardwood ahead of him.

The little blonde Kokiri put on a hardened frown and nodded.

"All right... then listen carefully..."

~

"A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me..."

In the vision Link received directly from the Great Deku Tree, he saw the back body of what appeared to be a rather tall red-haired man. With a cape, as similarly scarlet as his hair, it came down long to at least his legs and carried with it a strange symbol.

One Link had felt like he had seen somewhere before.

"This... evil man... ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to the world... and to Hyrule."

Seemingly riding a similarly intimidating war-decorated dark-coloured horse, the nameless man's cape billowed through the flames he rode through fearlessly.

"For it is in the Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic; the ultimate power... the Triforce."

Link listened dutifully but, completely entranced.

This was the first he had heard of this.

Not even Saria knew of this, he thought.

As if to signify a scene change, Link's view flashed brightly before soon re-focusing and adjusting to a new area; what seemed to be a sky. Rain dropped down directly from the heavens above; Link could barely catch the sight of what seemed to be three glowing dots in the sky.

"Before time began... before spirits and life existed..."

The Great Deku Tree's quiet but firm words mixed with the lashing rain; a strange but welcome mixture indeed.

"Three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule..."

WHOOSH-WHOOSH

WHOOSH

Just as the Deku Tree stated, three missiles of intense and otherworldly strength plummeted down toward their position. Inside their unique colours of auras appeared to be human forms – female.

"Din, the goddess of power..."

Link watched what seemed to be a floating form of pure scorching crimson stare back at them.

"Nayru, the goddess of wisdom..."

To the left of the floating Din descended down Nayru. In spite of her flaming sister, the now named Nayru glowed with a glorious sky-blue, matching the very sky and rain she flew in.

"And Farore, the goddess of courage..."

To the right of Din plummeted the last and final sister; an emerald-shaded aura form. Link found himself entranced by her form, his eyes widened at the beauty and strength they seemed to command.

WHOOSH...

In her flight, Din left behind what seemed to be a lone flame. Though at first it exploded, it very slowly, and with growing speed as time passed, imploded within itself almost as if reversing its process. A flash brightened Link's eyes and he found himself unable to see until, finally, his vision adjusted and a new scene was brought before him.

He saw countless boulders and rocks flying through the air, dotted with what seemed to be thunder and lightning strikes in the distance.

"Din... with her strong flaming arms, she cultivated the land... and created the red earth."

The Great Deku Tree's words echoed out across the space in which they resided in.

"Nayru... poured her wisdom onto the earth and gave spirit of law and Aegir to the world."

Watching from what seemed to be a mountainous region in the earth, Link craned his neck up to watch the blue missile that was Nayru shoot across the backdrop. As she did, the very sky itself and its clouds were born before her; even the glaring sun high above appeared only after her intervention.

Returning back to what seemed to be the forest itself and the area in which they stood, Link's eyes found themselves rising back to the sky.

"Farore... with her rich soul, produced all life-forms who would uphold this law."

As before, one of the golden goddesses shot across the sky and, this time, colour was granted to the forest; her rich, emerald was gifted to the area.

"Before the Sainted Three made their final leave of Hyrule and the world... they left behind with them their power of 'Aegir'." The Great Deku Tree spoke, his fatherly words echoing on out deeply within the realm they inhabited.

The scene before the listening Link soon changed to a later, more developed one; before him he watched a green field populated with what seemed to be other people.

"Chosen by the Sainted Three... this man, hailed as the Sorcerer of the Divine Divide for his contribution in the Continental Divide, passed on the good, honest principles of the teachings that the Sainted Three intended for their strength of Aegir."

In the scene, Link watched a shadowy figure stand on what seemed to be a platform. A campfire lay between him and the countless people in which he spoke to; presumably the Sorcerer's form.

"With these labours completed... the Sainted Three, the golden goddesses, finally departed for their resting place; the heavens," the Great Deku Tree interrupted one, final time; as he spoke, the scene changed before the spectating Link. This time it returned to the chaotic but oddly calm sky he saw at the beginning of the vision. "Golden sacred triangles were left at the point where the goddesses left Hyrule... and the world."

WHOOSH-CRASH

In the vision Link watched the three flying forms collide and, as they did, a mild explosion erupted between them all. They vanished, leaving behind as narrated, what seemed to be three large floating golden triangles. They hummed noisily and gave off a holy aura as they rotated slowly in the air. As if to confirm their relation to the Sainted Three themselves, the chaotic sky above it began to shift from a gloomy dark to a bright yellow and then, finally, a natural blue.

"Since then, the sacred triangles have become the the basis of our land's providence... and the resting place of these triangles has become known as the 'Sacred Realm'."

–

2

Link held back from gasping when his eyes returned the vision of the area he sat in to Kokiri Forest.

He had returned.

Was all that just a story?

Or was it something more?

"Link... thou are one of the only few in the forest, nay the world who now knows this information; it is all true," the Great Deku Tree finally spoke once more; Link watched his father-like figure from his seated position on the soft marshy ground, his big blue eyes widened. "Thou must never allow the desert warrior in black armour to lay his hands on the sacred Triforce..."

The listening Kokiri's eyes widened as he paid further attention to the god-like figure.

Could this mean...?

"This curse, laid on me by that evil man that you helped rid me of... my end is nigh."

"N-No!"

Navi's sudden interruption made the listening Link wince but, all the same, agree with her.

"W-Why? What's-?"

"Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started..."

"But that's..." Link began in response, his frown deepening to a saddened, gloomy one.

It was all for nothing?

"Please... do not grieve for me...," the Deku Tree spoke; a dismissive but gentle tone in his voice. "I have been able to tell thee of these important matters... this is Hyrule's... nay, the world's final hope."

Almost as if reacting in kind to his words, Link brought himself up from the ground, dusting his Kokiri tunic off as he did so.

"Link... go now to Hyrule Castle... only there wilt thou surely meet the Princess of Destiny..."

The listening blonde could only blink; he recognised the word 'princess' from the stories he had heard from Saria.

"But I didn't think there ever was such a thing?"

"Take this stone with thee; the stone that man wanted so badly that he cast this dreadful curse upon me..."

FLASH

Link had to gasp and shield his eyes very briefly before widening them and opening his arms up. A trio of items dropped from the once shining sky he looked up at.

An incredibly marvellous looking gem overshadowed the slingshot and bag that came with them. When all three finally descended down to his grip, Link allowed himself to view all three. The gem, by far, was the most interesting of the trio. A spherical like golden frame held the similarly shaped green coloured emerald within; it shone brightly back at him, entrancing him in his stare.

"The future, my son... now depends upon thee. Thou may be young... but thou surely art courageous... have faith..."

When he put the Deku Seed bag, the slingshot and the Kokiri's Emerald into his tunic and belt he re-raised his head to re-face the Deku Tree.

"Navi the fairy... help Link to carry out this will... be at his side, always."

The little guardian fairy audibly sniffed in her squeak, her voice growing weak. "Y-Yes..."

"I... entreat... ye... Navi... good... bye..."

CREAK...

Link watched in mild horror as the once lush dark-brown of the Great Deku Tree's hardwood very gradually turned black with the echoing sound of the firm creak from his wooden body. Eventually, when the creaking finally stopped, both Link and Navi could only watch in stony silence, whether out of respect or sadness.

Finally breaking the pair out of their minute-silence, Navi spoke up.

"Let's do it; let's go to Hyrule Castle Link!"

The Kokiri merely nodded his green-hat head in response before about turning to patter off back the way he came. Navi, at first, turned to leave with him before very slowly turning back over her blue body. A melancholic tone escaped her lips to spice the final words she spoke.

"Goodbye... Great Deku Tree."

~

Link had slowed his jog to a light walk, lowering his head as he did so. A surprising intense, sharp pain hit at him through his heart.

I only just met the Great Deku Tree, he thought.

Why do I care so much?

When he finally turned 'round a bend to exit the alcove he nearly bumped into what looked to be a pair of familiar green shoes. Link turned his blue eyes up to find the hard-faced Mido staring back at him.

"Not now... please..."

In spite of his silent pleas, there he stood, blocking his way.

"Hey, you!"

Link chose to re-lowered his head and his eyes, unwilling to face the fiery youth. "What...?"

"What in the name of the spirits did you do?! My guardian fairy told me that something happened to the Great Deku Tree! Everyone in the forest knows it! Fess up!"

Link opted to remain silent, his eyes and his head held lowly.

Don't do this Mido, he thought.

"I can't let him see me cry."

Mido remained silent; his similarly blue eyes narrowed back at the deep frown on Link's face. He craned forward, almost as if to look for the answer within his own eyes.

"Is... is the Great Deku Tree... dead...?" Mido gasped out, his eyes widening very briefly at the apex of his sentence, taking his hands off of his hips.

Though again, Link chose not to respond vocally, his lower lip trembled; an obvious tell.

Mido's eyes widened, this time in what seemed to be a mixture of awe and consternation. "You... you did this...?"

Link's head finally re-raised back up and he shook it back at the boy but, unfortunately, the tears on his face were easy game.

He lost.

"B-But... why, Link?" The self-appointed Kokiri chief whispered on out. Though he took an unwary and perhaps even frightened step back, he suddenly growled and lunged forward; anger renewed, the bully grasped Link by the scruff of his tunic and pulled him toward with both hands. "What did the Great Deku Tree ever do to you?!"

Link opened his mouth to reply but no words came out; he could only tremble his lip and, very slowly, shut his tearful eyes in conjunction with his lowering head.

"I hate you! You should never have been born! You've never been one of us!" Mido screamed this time, his voice echoing loudly throughout the Kokiri Forest. By now, the pair had gained a sizeable audience of children watching them.

The pair of mortal enemies, softened by their confrontation and the similarly saddened teary-faces, finally finished their engagement.

"Hmph!"

With his last grunt of effort, Mido tossed the frowning Link back; the little blonde fell, sprawling to his back. He pulled himself back up very slowly, noting the watching and murmuring Kokiri spread out around the forest. Mido ahead of him merely stormed ahead, presumably to go inform Saria.

By the time he'd get to her it'd be too late, Link thought.

"I have no-one left to call a friend."

"Sorry I took so-" Navi's sudden interruption jumped in; the little blue fairy blinked as she caught the numerous Kokiri watching them. "What happened? Why are you on the ground?"

Link sniffed, lowering his head to avoid her prying eyes. He shook his head as he re-opened his own mouth to finally speak.

"No reason," he merely managed out, standing himself back upright before soon dusting himself off. "Let's go."

Navi watched him leave, blinking in surprise. She merely shook her own head however before soon bouncing forward through the air after him.

When the pair reached the one bridge exit to the forest, leading through the Lost Woods, Link didn't even offer the similarly silent Kokiri on guard a nod.

A thought of his previous warnings flashed through his blonde head as he marched deathly forward.

"We Kokiri will die if we leave the forest!"

I guess we'll find out, he thought in a dry and humourless grin.

"You're leaving..."

Link's gradual march was halted, almost as immediately as he heard that familiar soft voice. His eyes widened and his head shot up before, as slowly as before, he turned his blonde head over his shoulder to find the sad-frowning faced Saria staring back at him. She stood in a lightly leaning posture, placing her hand softly against one of the big bridge's sides. The look in her eye was different, strange.

Unusual.

It was melancholic but there was an odd sense of knowing to them, almost as if she worked all of this out by herself.

Why is she here?

Didn't Mido get to her first?

Better yet, he thought...

"Why is she even talking to me?"

"I knew... that you would someday leave the forest... Link," Saria finally re-spoke, this time placing a light but obviously forced smile to her complexion. The listening Kokiri turned around and began to walk toward her, gaining what little courage he held. "Because you're... different... from me and my friends." The kind Kokiri claimed, raising her eyes with a smile to sweeten her words.

If they had come from anyone else but her, Link would have taken them for an insult.

I don't deserve you for a friend, he thought.

And now I'm leaving you.

"It's okay though... we'll be friends forever... won't we?" She asked, shutting her blue eyes and raising something in her hands' grip to rest on her green clothed chest.

"S-Saria..."

"No... don't speak," the emerald-haired Kokiri interrupted him softly, shaking her head in a similarly gentle smile as she did. "You can't make this harder than it already is... please..."

Link lowered his eyes, nodding in silent sadness.

"Here... I want you... to have this."

When he re-raised his blonde head up to frown forward his blue eyes widened in light surprise.

The instrument she used so faithfully in the past lay in her two hands; a rather large but expertly hand-crafted ocarina.

Was she giving it to him?

Reaching forward with a light wince, Link let his right hand softly graze the smooth surface of the instrument and though he flinched when he felt Saria coax her own hand over his he didn't dare move it.

The two Kokiri lifted their eyes from the ocarina in their hands to look straight into one another; words need not even be said between them. Even now in spite of his inability to understand Saria's past behaviour he could at least work out the sorrow lying behind the glassy look in her oceanic blue.

I feel the same way, he thought.

"She knows... but for how long has she known?"

"Please... don't ever forget me," Saria whispered, her delicate grip on his right hand tightening ever so slightly. "Maybe... this will help you remember."

A sudden urge to leap at her into a crying embrace took hold of him very strongly; he fought it for dear life. Shutting his eyes and keeping his grip on the ocarina in his hand, he took a few wary steps back, attempting to put on a hardened frown. Saria's light smile slowly dropped to a frown when she felt her fingers slip slowly from his. When she watched him finally about-turn and run for the exit behind him, his head held low, Saria allowed her saddened frown to take hold as she leaned against the bridge.

The sound of the crows' calls gave a strangely sad vibe throughout the Lost Woods to suit the ambient atmosphere.

–

3

The two trees ahead of him kept his mind focused dead on the forest however, in spite of that, he found himself marching slowly forward his head held low.

"Link?"

He opted not to listen to his fairy companion.

Ignore her, he thought.

He had gone through far too much to face any questions from Navi; from Mido's interrogation, his ostracising from the rest of the Kokiri and, finally, saying his goodbyes to his only friend, he had very little patience left.

"Ah... there you are."

A second voice, unfamiliar and much deeper than Navi's high-pitch, made the youth turn his head up in light surprise. Though he saw a rather large owl perched on one of the trees since turning a corner he found nothing else that could have made that sound.

So who-?

"I have been waiting for thee... 'Link'... isn't it?"

Link's blue eyes shot wide open at the revelation before him.

He quickly realised it was the owl that spoke.

"Am I dreaming?" He thought to himself silently, barely unable to stop staring at the marvelled creature.

"What's wrong?" The sizeable bird questioned him with its deep, masculine voice. It tilted its head at him curiously, as if to add to his emphasis. "You act as if you have never seen a talking owl before..."

In a comical wide-eyed zig-zag frown, Link could only stare back at the unnamed wild game.

"U-Um... I'm Navi and, yes, this is Link; I'm his guardian fairy," the little blue pixie introduced itself shakily as it rose itself up into the air to better face him. The curious owl righted its head the right way 'round before raising a large eyebrow down at her. "We've just come from the-"

"Kokiri Forest, yes?"

Navi blinked behind her soft blue light. "U-Um... yes... how...?"

"I am well-informed," the marvellous creature claimed, briefly shutting its eyes as if bowing in respect. "Fret not, young Link and Navi... for I am here to assist you in your quest."

Link couldn't help but exchange his raised eyebrow with the listening Navi. "A-And how do you know ab-?"

"Let's say I can see into the future, my young pupil," the nameless bird seemed to almost smile down at the pair in response, softly interrupting him with his voice. "Your destination is Hyrule Castle, is it not?"

"Y-Yeah but-"

"Excellent!" The owl interjected once more, a pleasant tone to his voice. "Ah, where are my manners? Please, excuse me; my name... is Kaepora Gaebora."

Link could only blink back in response.

"I don't want to sound rude," he thought in his unsure frown. "But how do I even pronounce that name, let alone say it...?"

"You may refer to me as 'Kae'; how is that?" The owl questioned, raising a second eyebrow skyward, almost as if reading his mind. Link put on a light, embarrassed smile and nodded as he rubbed the back of his green-hat head. "Good," the newly introduced Kaepora seemed to smile behind his feathery body. "Now... let us begin."

Acting on his own words, the large owl turned his body and began to flap his wings loudly, as if to take to the skies. Link exchanged another unsure expression with the watching and listening Navi before the pair shrugged at one another and followed him in a brisk walk forward.

At least the sudden and strange events had taken his mind off of everything else... briefly.

"Hyrule Castle is a ways away from the sanctity of Kokiri Forest," the flapping Kaepora crooned high above the following pair; he dropped his flight a few yards in an attempt to fly closer overhead to the travelling two. "We may not make it in time for the drawbridge to close... but we must try."

Link blinked in response to the owl's deep words, turning his eyes forward as they began to approach what seemed to be a hill with a noticeable path alongside it. Surprised he found he could read it, his blue eyes widened at the contents written on it.

Hyrule Castle

Lon Lon Ranch

Both written in comparably different colours, he studied the signpost's direction and found the hovering Kaepora flying off in its direction. Resuming his march with his guardian fairy and new companion, he opted to keep his mouth closed.

"I'm sorry; how did you know our destination is Hyrule Castle?" Navi pressed further; though Link raised a curious blonde eyebrow he chose to keep out of the conversation. The similarly curious Kaepora swivelled his head 'round to stare over at her as she re-opened her mouth to continue. "This is the dying wish of the-"

"Great Deku Tree."

Kaepora's sudden intervention (seemingly a running thing) made the listening Navi stop in her tracks, widening her eyes behind her blue body. The seemingly wise old owl nodded his large head as he re-faced the front, his feathery wings flapping strongly.

"I knew him well," Kaepora claimed, his voice almost seemingly deeper somehow as if he were speaking from a long-held memory. "A lot of people have died to realise this moment, oh guardian fairy."

The answer, at least, satisfied her for now; Navi could only stare up at him, a side of her face scrunched in silent scrutinisation. She remained mute however in her approval of the creature's response.

"M-Mr. Kae... sir?"

The owl turned its head for the second to third time, raising one of its busy eyebrows upward.

Link winced at the sudden attention he gained, not just from the listening owl, but from the frowning Navi.

"When we... get to the castle and I deliver the Great Deku Tree's message to the princess...," the youth began, stammering his words as he spoke. "Can I return to the Kokiri Forest?"

His words surprised the listening owl; Kaepora blinked down at him before shaking his head slowly in response.

"I'm... not sure; I'm sorry, young Link," the divine creature responded in his negative frown before re-facing the front. "A lot has been done to put you in this position my son; we may have need of your talents yet."

Link's eyes lowered slowly as he resumed his march forward; a similarly sorrowful feeling washed over him as he listened.

It would have been nice to have received a definite answer; to return to his home and, more importantly, to his only friend would have been the best gift he could – nay anyone could ask for.

And yet, somehow, he thought...

This wasn't just going to be a day's journey.

~

"There we go... that's it; yes!"

Kaepora's words of encouragement, though alleviated his anxiety somewhat, did nothing to quell the negative thoughts threatening to burst his head.

By now, the party of three had set up camp to the north-east of Hyrule Field and the Kokiri Forest; a running river of water made Link trace it to a large pool or fountain. Both Navi and Kaepora informed them of its origins to the 'Zoran' people in the area; a fish-like race of populace that largely kept themselves in isolation.

Link could understand why.

Having gone to grab provisions for a fire and extra twigs for a tent, Link was lucky in the sense that time previously spent with Saria helped him in this regard.

I still owe her so much, he thought as he placed the last remaining twig down on the growing pil in the centre.

"Now we need to get the fire going; I suggest the use of a Deku Nut!"

Kaepora's words called over to him excitedly, almost as if in effort to raise his morale; he faced him very briefly before reaching inside his green garb for one. Soon taking it out he frowned as he lightly tossed the nut skyward with a flick of his wrist. It spun through the air soundlessly before, eventually colliding with the group of twigs.

FLASH

True to Kaepora's words, the Deku Nut ignited the wooden branches in a glorious flash of fire and the frowning Link and Navi were treated to its warmth.

"Excellent, excellent!" Kaepora sung over in approval; the smile across his face told all. "Now... I'm going to scout on ahead and be certain that our road shall be unimpeded by any danger; you two remain here for me to return to. We have a big day in the morning!"

Navi and Link both exchanged a frown together but, in essence, gave the owl exactly what he was looking for in a similar-faced nod.

"Good! I shall see you in a few hours; stay safe!"

His wings gave an inevitable hard and echoing flap as he took to the sky and swivelled around to fly off, presumably in search of Hyrule's very field itself. Link sighed quietly through his nose as he lay down in a seated position, his blue eyes watching the dancing sparks of fire below him.

"Link?"

The named Kokiri turned his eyes away from the fire in avoidance, almost as if it had said that word.

He knew who it was calling on him.

"Are you angry at me?"

Vaguely annoyed at her tone, Link could only roll his oceanic eyes in response to her words.

She can't be serious, he thought.

Read between the lines.

"No, of course I'm not," he murmured out childishly, a light frown adorned on his expression. "It's just been... overwhelming... the past couple of days."

Thank you for teaching me that word Saria, he thought silently to himself.

"I get that...," Navi's soft voice echoed on out as she chanced herself closer; placing her small bulbous blue body on his green-garbed shoulder. "I'm always here... if you need to vent...?"

The frowning youth briefly turned his head in his sat up position to face her, raising a blonde eyebrow at her.

He didn't want to discourage her efforts...

"But I've only just met you..." He thought in silent conflict with the little fairy's statement.

Better to be polite about it, he speculated quietly to himself.

"Th-Thanks..." He forced a smile out in response as he watched her stare back at him in her soft blue light.

He didn't want to tell her half of what was on his mind, let alone the main thing.

I still can't even remember what happened with Gohma, he thought.

"I remember fighting her up to a certain point," the little Kokiri pondered quietly, raising his already raised left arm and hand to bite at his left thumbnail in a display of thought. "But I don't remember killing h-"

"Link!"

–

4

The blonde youth snapped his head in Navi's direction, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise; his eyes widened along with them when he very briefly caught the sight of a skeleton swinging one of its bony arms for him.

Moving to action immediately, he grunted softly as he leapt to his right in evasion, rolling across Hyrule's green field. He skid in recovery, eyes narrowing forward at the revelation before him. Not one but two of these skeletal intruders shambled towards his camp, clearly aiming for its owner. The second shot its arm across the fire he had painstakingly made, successfully knocking it out and turning it alight with it.

"Navi... what are they?" Link whispered out, his sky-blue eyes darting between the pursuing pair suspiciously.

"Th-They're Stalchildren...," the little guardian fairy stammered out as she bounced toward him, her form shaking as she flitted down to hide behind him. "D-Don't be afraid! You have a sword!"

Easy for you to say, he thought in a comical dead-pan frown as he briefly re-faced her fearing form.

Acting on her words regardless however, the little Kokiri warrior reached for the small-sword on his back and the Deku Shield that went so well with it. Though his fingers still trembled with it in his grip he attempted to keep his mettle together as he watched the two Stalchildren shamble toward him. One was already covered in fire, he thought.

That's one job down; just let it die by itself.

When the first one slowly shuffled toward him however, he set his eyes on it carefully, watching for any weaknesses.

He saw lots...

But his confidence in taking advantage of them was a different story.

He used the Deku Shield in his right arm to block the inevitable swing the Stalchild gifted him and grunted as he was sent skidding a very small distance back; acting on instinct, he swung his Kokiri Sword in a horizontal slice, yelling in the effort he gave.

SQUELCH

In spite of the Stalchild's constitution, Link's eyes widened when he audibly and clearly heard his small-sword cut through what seemed to be flesh.

What in the name?

The little skeleton's head was sent careering from its shoulders in response and, as if to react in response, the poor little Stalchild began to inevitably turn its body as if in vagrant search for him, swinging its arms at nothing but air.

Link stared at it with widened eyes of his own, pleasantly surprised by his effort.

His initial surprise and dread seemed to be laughable by comparison now.

When he began to lose the adrenaline he normally carried, the wide-eyed youth was nearly struck by the aflame Stalchild on his sharp-right; the Kokiri abruptly leapt to his left side urgently, cutting through the air as he did. The fiery skeleton growled as its blazing arm shot across the air savagely, striking and alighting the nearby grass on fire with it.

"Don't get overconfident!"

Gee, thanks Navi, he thought sarcastically.

Acting on previous experience, Link narrowed his blue eyes as he roughly swung his small-sword in another diagonal motion, this time in the opposite horizontal direction.

SQUELCH

Once again, the Stalchild's head was torn from its shoulders and it began to blindly shamble off in search for him.

"They can't see me..." Link murmured on out as he narrowed his blue eyes at the pair of skeletons scuffling away.

Maybe this was the best option, he thought.

Don't kill – just lead them away.

He realised how stupid that notion sounded, especially considering the Stalchildren's species, but this could be the best course of action.

This quest will be over soon anyway, he thought to himself.

"Better to cherish life, just as the Great Deku Tree taught me."

His eyes widened for what felt like the umpteenth time however when he caught the sight of two more Stalchildren shuffling toward him, malice in their non-existent hearts.

"What?!" Link couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes darting across at the other two Stalchildren wandering away from his position.

Why are there two more so soon?

What is going on?!

One on the left rushed him with another swipe at his face; he grunted as he swung his Kokiri Sword across at it, easily hacking off its skeleton limb. When the fourth Stalchild attacked him from his undefended right, his eyes darted in its direction but he was already too tired to have reacted in time.

"Link!"

Navi's urgent call came far too late; the fourth Stalchild's swing finally made its mark and, with surprising strength, sent the yelping Link sprawling through the Hyrulean air. The youth used his shield arm to rake at the grassy ground beneath him to slow his flight; he crunched his right eye shut, a new and visibly painful wound struck across his face. When his fall had finished and his movement stopped, he gasped as he attempted to pull himself to his feet.

Very slowly he opened his right eye and winced at the blood that gradually dripped from his new and open wound, staining the grass below him.

"Are you all right?"

"Mostly...," Link replied, using his sword arm to wipe at the long and noticeable cut on his right cheek that would inevitably turn to a scar. "Do these things just keep coming?"

"I'm not sure... but I don't like this!" The little guardian fairy admitted in her usual high-pitched whine, flitting her blue light down to hide behind his green-garbed form. "Where's that owl when you need him?!"

Link's hard-eyed frown twitched in response to her frantic words.

He couldn't help but agree.

His eyes widened when he caught sly movement to his undefended side on his left; with a sudden side-jump to his right he came flying down the grassy knoll, skidding his Kokiri boots across it roughly. The little forest boy watched the new Stalchild from his side shamble down the hill after him, as if a zombie of some kind.

Another one?

As if to act further on his silent worries however, a presence behind him made his eyes widen in terror for what felt like the last time.

Another one?!

He barely got his Deku Shield up in time to block the attack, 'rounding his body around to face the growling Stalchild behind him. Though it brought him to his left knee, Link grunted as he shot his Kokiri small-sword at it in counter-attack, eyes narrowed.

He didn't even see the pursuing Stalchild behind him ambush him with a swipe of its arm.

SMASH

"Argh!"

With a single pain-filled yelp Link was sent rolling across the air and the grassy field of Hyrule. Now a sizeable distance back from his man-made camp, he grunted as he attempted to push his body off of the grassy ground below him. With surprising strength and athleticism he didn't know he had, Link managed to turn his rolling sprawl into a revolving recovery in mid-air. In his landing he clocked yet another growling Stalchild in his way, watching him hungrily.

He brought his Kokiri Sword up and widened his sky-blue eyes as he plummeted back down to earth.

CRASH

Time slowed down for the scowling and scrunched-up faced Link and wide-eyed Navi; with both arms on the hilt of his weapon he managed to easily tear apart the gasping Stalchild's body. It erupted into a glorious show of skeletal parts and green-shaded fire. His mind moving a mile-a-minute, Link's eyes widened as they darted to his far left, catching the sound of approaching footsteps. With an effort-filled, grunting leap, the agile little Kokiri used the adrenaline gifted to him by short-hopping backward through the air, narrowly avoiding the next Stalchild's inevitable slice. He grunted a second time as he shot his small-sword across the air horizontally, savaging tearing apart the skeleton's body.

As Link landed, skidding heavily down back the knoll he came from, his eyes darted to his far-left a second time, hearing the sound of more enemies behind him. Bending his body downward and forward he managed to avoid the Stalchild's wide and wild horizontal slice before he grunted again as he swept the ground with his boot. The Stalchild growled in its own wide-eyed stare, knocked from the grassy ground; as it dropped to the earth below it, the narrow-eyed Link spun around in place before yelling in effort as he brought his small-sword crashing down to meet the defenceless skeleton.

CRASH

As before, the Stalchild's sizeable body burnt up in shards of green flame, its many limbs and body briefly hovering into the air in his eyes. Again the poor youth was given little to no time to recover however; his eyes widened and blood from his first wound spurt with the sudden arch he made with his head as he faced his right.

CLUNK

Though he shot his Deku Shield up to block the inevitable attack he was faced with he gasped when he found his strength finally lacking; the Stalchild's strength was too much for his battle-weary form and it was sent careering through the air. Though he was protected from the attack temporarily he was now without a defensive tool; he grunted as he was sent stumbling backward. His eyes widened and, his adrenaline running high, managed to catch the movement of another hostile form behind him.

CLANG

He swivelled his body around directly behind him and shot his Kokiri Sword up in a defensive manoeuvre, eyes glaring at the skeleton glowering back at him. Sparks emitted from his weapon and he found himself dropping to his knee in the sheer effort he put through.

Is this the end, he thought.

"No..."

It can't be.

"NO!"

HACK-SLICE

With a last-ditch effort, Link's eyes widened as he broke the skeleton's hold and sliced through its body in two swipes; as with its brethren, its body erupted into a marvellous show of emerald flame before him. He gasped continually in his growing and high fatigue, sweat dripping from his brow; his eyes widened for the umpteenth time however when he caught a second Stalchild swinging at him from his right. The little agile Kokiri warrior shot his small-sword up defensively to block the attack but, as expected...

CLANG

He yelped as his one saving grace was knocked from his grip, sending him sprawling in failure to his back; the grass almost seemed to whine with the wind for him as he fell upon it.

Now, finally, spent of all of his physical and spiritual energy Link could only stare up at the ebony-shaded night sky and the many blinking stars overlooking him and Hyrule's glorious field. The pain he slowly succumbed to made his eyelids grow weary and heavy; he slipped in and out of consciousness.

"Link...!"

Navi's urgent call began to sound far off, as if in a distant tunnel somewhere.

This really was the end, he thought.

As he lay on the grassy ground beneath him his thoughts began to wander back to his home of Kokiri Forest and of his days with Saria.

Why did this have to happen, he pondered sadly.

I won't get to see her again.

"I wish I could have told you...," he began in his mind, his cloudy vision catching the blurry sight of approaching Stalchildren above him. "How I feel..."

SQUELCH

The hovering skeletons above him exploded in an incredible show of grassy blaze. Link's concerns were gone; he didn't even care that they'd seemingly been defeated above him. Succumbing to his immense fatigue and his wounds he barely caught the sight of a frowning person kneeling down to face him. A young girl wearing what seemed to be a bright and white dress; her long red hair went down to the small of her back. Her body, and her face, began to morph however into the form he found most familiar.

The softly smiling Saria stared down at him in her familiar motherly expression. Her name was the last thing to escape his lips before he finally fell unconscious.

"S-Saria..."


	4. Quiet Days

Chapter 4: Quiet Days  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Lon Lon Ranch" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 2 (First Half).

\--

"Good! I shall see you in a few hours! Stay safe!"

The wise old owl's last words to the camped Link and Navi in Hyrule's endless green; unfortunately for him (and for the poor pair of castle-bound adventurers) these words were truly put to the test.

Having passed the Great Deku Tree's final test in ridding him of the infection dealt to him by the greedy desert-bound warrior, both Link and Navi acquire his Kokiri Emerald and are met by a very interesting figure upon their first step into Hyrule Field. A strange talking bird referring to itself as 'Kaepora Gaebora'; having made its introductions in its connection with the Great Deku Tree itself, Kaepora becomes fast contacts of the two Kokiri residents of Hyrule.

In their attempt to reach Hyrule Castletown they stop and take refuge from the long walk next to the Zoran river. Opting to scout ahead by his lonesome, Kaepora leaves the camped Link and Navi to check for dangers, unaware of the danger the poor Kokiri and his guardian fairy thus deal with. Having been awakened by the oppressive darkness of night, 'Stalchildren' of Hyrule Field awaken to terrorise the unprepared Link and Navi. In spite of his combat abilities improving since fighting in the Great Deku Tree and engagement with Gohma, Link is very slowly overwhelmed and overpowered by the never-ending numbers of the undead skeletal warriors.

Knocked unconscious and suffering many battle-wounds from his skirmish, it was all Link could do to stop himself from bleeding out. As he falls into a comatose state, the last thing the blonde boy sees is the most important thing to him. A friend. A friend he would argue as his only one...

Saria.

\--

Scene 1

"How long has it been?"

Link turned his eyes around from his task of making the beds; he put on a smile when he found Saria behind him, knelt over a campfire. Though she wove a wooden spoon across the liquid in a bowl over the fire, she turned her attention on him similarly, eventually facing him also.

"Since...?"

"Yes... since you left that day."

Link held back from laughing when he realised exactly what she meant.

It didn't even feel that long ago... and yet...

"At least five years," Link finally voiced, a genuine smile upon his face. "I still can't believe it was that long ago."

"Neither can I," Saria chuckled from her knelt position, running her spoon through the boiling bowl. "You've changed so much."

In spite of the fact he hadn't aged, being a Kokiri after all, he knew she was referring to his character.

"I guess so," Link agreed with her in a light smile, half-closing his eyelids as he lowered his oceanic eyes to the sleeping duvets he laid out in the Lost Woods' floor. "I'm just glad I was able to deliver the Great Deku Tree's last message to Hyrule's princess."

"Yeah?" Saria began, cocking a green eyebrow up as she grinned over at him. "Was she beautiful?"

Link rolled his eyes, his warm smile curling into a devious smirk of his own. "At least make it a challenge Saria; she can't hold a candle to you."

"Oops, was I too obvious?" The sly Kokiri chuckled good-naturedly back at him. Link couldn't help but grin knowingly back at her in response. When she had finished with the bowl she slaved over she grabbed it and a second one before moving on over to Link's position. "This was a wonderful idea." She uttered softly as she laid Link's bowl down in front of him before soon taking a seat next to him.

Link smiled genuinely once more as he swept the bowl of soup up from the grassy ground beneath them both, turning his view skyward. Saria followed his movements with a smile of her own.

"Yeah...," Link nodded, watching the bright stars dotted around the ebony landscape above. "This is a nice place."

"Our... secret place."

Saria's words were spiced by the sudden but soft shuffling she gave in an effort to move closer to the blonde boy next to her. Link couldn't help but briefly swivel his head and his eyes 'round to smile back at her.

Just as she said, the pair sat in an area that only they knew.

She called it the 'Sacred Forest Meadow'.

They rested in a quiet corner of the area; a gossip stone sat in the far-off left corner while a mere tree stump sat in the top right. In the centre rested a strangely man-made platform of stone and granite with a symbol decorated on the front; it seemed to overlook the broken staircase above it leading to what seemed to be a separate building. A single tree hung its branch over the staircase lazily.

"You never know; someone else might find it." Link opted to throw in with a mischievous light grin.

"Oh? Like who?"

"Mido."

"Mido!" Saria parroted with a laugh, laying her soup bowl to the grassy ground to prevent spillage. "Mido can't even tie his own shoelaces together, let alone traverse the Lost Woods!"

"Oh come on; Mido's came pretty far since that day I left," Link stood up for his former bully and mortal enemy, smiling as he did. "Hasn't he?"

"Yeah I suppose he has," Saria smiled back, her laughter soon dying down in favour of a less boisterous one. "I never thought I'd see you two on speaking terms."

It was Link's turn to laugh this time. "Neither did I," he admitted in his well-natured chuckle. "I guess absence made the heart grow fonder?"

Even he didn't realise how accurate his statement was; when he had returned to the Kokiri Forest he had began to gain many friends among the little Kokiri.

A triumphant return indeed.

When he revolved his head back 'round to face her his eyebrows briefly rose in surprise; he found her watching him with a strange glassy look in her blue eyes. It was a look he had seen before; an odd sense of sadness that lay deep within her soft and foreboding expression. When she leaned her body closer to his he found his eyes widening, becoming mildly embarrassed at their close proximity. Unable to understand the look in her eye, her strange mood change or even the surrounding atmosphere Link could only fight the urge to lean back with his hands in retreat.

Opting to trust in his long-time friend, the little blonde Kokiri watched her lean her head ever so slowly into his.

When Saria snapped her eyes and her emerald-haired head to her sharp-left however, his eyes instinctively darted to follow hers.

A skeletal arm shot in between the pair and Link gasped, his eyes widening as he rolled backward. When he found the owner of the arm a Stalchild, he couldn't help but lose the rest of the breath in his throat; a horrible sense of vertigo suddenly enriched itself inside him.

Stalchildren.

Memories of leaving Kokiri Forest, meeting Kaepora Gaebora and fighting for his life on Hyrule Field suddenly dropped themselves through his head.

This is a dream, this has to be-

~

"Dream!"

His words echoed to match the dry scratch in his throat; Link's eyes widened for what felt like the umpteenth time as he suddenly leaned up and forward, a cold sweat running across his forehead. His vision returned to him and he was no longer in the Lost Woods; his eyes darted around his new surroundings to find himself laying between a mattress and a duvet.

Someone's bed?

Where-?

He looked around and found himself in a modestly sized bedroom. The tan covers he wore over his body made him pull them off to reveal a pair of white shorts on his legs, complete with the similarly shaded shirt.

Where's my clothes, he thought.

He grunted lightly as he used his left arm to grip at his forehead, scrunching his eyes up to remember.

"I remember sitting out in camp in Hyrule Field... and then..."

The Stalchildren, he thought.

Even in his dreams they haunt him.

He double-took when he caught a white dressing around his left injured arm; his blue eyes narrowed down at it.

It was well forged.

"Who...?" He murmured out thoughtfully as he used his free right fingers to poke at it, as if to test it.

Whoever did that was skilled at it. Couldn't have been Navi or even Kaepora.

So who?

Almost as if to answer his silent query, the door to his far-left opened up; his eyes widened and, his nerves tensing up, he could only seem to wait and watch. The person who sauntered through seemed to be quite short in stature – similar to his own height perhaps; a young girl. His blonde eyebrows lifted up when he recognised the long and flowing fiery red hair upon her head. Seemingly styled in a similar sense to his own hairstyle, she was a pretty little girl, perhaps around his own age.

I remember her, he thought.

The person he saw just before he fell unconscious.

She wore a long and modest white dress upon her small frame and a dull yellow scarf around her neck that complimented the rest of her simple but effective appearance. She carried with her a tray packed with what seemed to be resources; Link's sky-blue eyes darted across it, catching food and drink laid out on it. When the nameless fire-haired girl caught him staring her own eyes widened and, on instinct, she turned her body around.

"S-Sorry...," she began out, a soft tone to her voice. "I didn't mean to catch you like this..."

Link blinked at her cluelessly.

What was she-?

When he looked down at himself only to notice his bare legs outside of the white shorts he wore he realised why she reacted the way she did. Link winced lightly but drew his legs back into the duvet he woke up under. After a second or two she chanced an eye back 'round before soon smiling lightly as she watched him stare back at her in his curious frown. The nameless girl put on a sociable smile as she placed the tray she held on a small and collapsible table to the youth's left side.

Just as he thought; it was sustenance.

She pulled forward one of the two chairs laying next to a bigger table in the centre of the room before soon seating herself down in it.

"Are you feeling better?"

Link blinked a second time at her, similarly in light curiosity.

How am I supposed to answer that?

Regardless of his thoughts however he responded.

"Um... f-fine, thank you," the little blonde Kokiri managed out, a sweaty and awkward smile on his own countenance. "I'm sorry, who-?"

"Oh! Please forgive me," the girl chuckled back at him, her crystalline eyes briefly widening before she soon re-set them. "My name is Malon of Lon Lon Ranch!"

Link's eyebrows shot up in recognition.

The name he saw on the signpost just outside of Kokiri Forest.

I'm in a ranch now?

What even is a ranch?

"My father and I found you and your cute little fairy just outside of Zora's River," the newly introduced Malon spoke with a smile, her big brown boots leisurely swinging in her seat as she spoke. "Link... isn't it?"

"H-How do you-?"

"Miss Navi let us know of your names." Malon giggled back at him, as if revelling in the fact she was one step ahead of him eternally. A side of Link's face scrunched up as she spoke.

Miss Navi?

Good to know she isn't injured at least, he thought.

"So you're from the forest, huh?"

Link returned his attention to the widely curious little girl, blinking back at her in response. She smiled over at him.

"Miss Navi told me your story," Malon chuckled good-naturedly. "She said you were quite the hero back there!"

Link allowed his eyes to wander from hers, feeling oddly guilty.

"Oh yeah; I'm a hero all right," he thought sarcastically to himself. "The hero that murdered the Great Deku Tree."

He knew in his heart that he didn't...

But not all the Kokiri would remember it like he did.

Especially Mido.

Although... maybe Saria...

"Well... it's been almost fun talking with you," Malon couldn't help but laugh as she sheepishly ran her hand across the back of her head in a display of her uncomfortable manner. "But I better go get back to work; take all the time you need to recover and eat," she smiled as she gave a light grunt, leaping down from her seat. She gave him a lingering, happy smile as she stood closer to his position. "I'm glad we found you!"

With that, the flame-haired girl about-turned and left him to his devices; Link could only stare on after her for several seconds, surprised by her words.

What did she mean by that?

"Argh... you idiot..." He muttered, this time directing his low mutterings to himself.

Didn't even give thanks for saving me, he thought.

What a way to show gratitude.

Maybe I can work off my debt?

But then what of the Great Deku Tree's final wish...?

"Duty calls I guess..." The blonde Kokiri muttered lowly, turning his marine eyes on the tray that Malon left.

–

2

When he found the clothes left out for him, (a simple brown over-shirt placed atop his white under-shirt and a pair of similarly simple brown trousers) he opted to take his chances outside. Leaving the cozy room he was left in he widened his eyes when he reached the top of the wooden staircase when he realised the back of his head was naked.

His green hat was gone.

Why am I so shocked, he thought; everything else was missing.

Probably being cleaned or something.

"I did bleed quite a bit that night..."

He let his thoughts and his messy blonde hair at the back rest before finally descending down the staircase before him.

I feel so strange in this getup, he thought.

Maybe it'll pass for normal outside of the forest.

When he made his final descent down to the ground level, Link double-took in a surprised frown at the sight laying before him.

As if the sound of animals didn't tip him off.

Link stared down at the mass number of strange animals bobbing their heads around the barn-like house. Laying with his head leant up against one of the long tables in the room, a similarly strange man seemed to be sleeping of all things amidst all of these clucking animals.

I'm a stranger in a strange land, Link thought.

"What even are these things...?" The clueless little Kokiri could only ponder in a questioning blink as he bent down to examine one of the little white creatures. One bobbed up to face him and turned its head up at him.

Link stared back at it with a comical blink, unsure on how to react.

They seemed to cluck and noisily at that – when the cute little bird-like creature finished its examining of the youth Link very tentatively reached forward with his right index finger and poked its crest.

Almost immediately on reaction the little fowl pecked his finger, making the wincing youth retract his right hand back in response.

"Ah!"

The man's sudden interruption, booming and surprising, made a slide of fear shoot through Link's spine; he shot his wide-eyed frown 'round on the sitting man to his sharp-right, feeling as if he was caught doing a wrong deed somehow.

"Morning son!" The nameless man smiled over at him, his eyes briefly shut. Link's own eyes remained in their widened, unsure state, as if waiting for something. "You slept through the night! You feeling any better?"

Link could only blink back at the friendly man before him. "U-Um... yes, thank you..."

"Sorry about your clothes," the moustached man smiled in apology. "Our trusty ranch hand Ingo is cleaning those up for you; you bled and sweat those through like a real warrior!"

Link couldn't help but laugh half-nervously in response, rubbing the back of his blonde head as he did.

"Ah, I do apologise!" The blue vest-wearing man chuckled back in response. "The name's Talon! I'm Malon's father; you're Link aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah...," Link chortled back in shy response, nodding as he did. He reached his hand forward to be shaken in gratitude, opting to be respectful this time. "Navi told you I take it? Thanks so much for saving us."

"That she did my son; you're quite welcome!" The well-natured Talon grinned back at him, his eyes briefly shut as he took Link's smaller hand in his own to shake in greeting. "Fairy boy of the forest then!"

"F-Fairy boy...?" Link parroted as he very gradually retracted his hand back from the older man's.

Talon burst into raucous laughter in response. "A nickname my daughter has given you my boy!" The ranch owner laughed good-naturedly. "She's taken to you very quickly! She rarely does with people," Talon admitted, his laughter dying down to a light smile. "Although to be honest it could just be because she finally has a friend her age." The pot-bellied man chuckled well-meaningly as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Link could only laugh similarly timidly, turning his blue eyes away from Talon's own. "That's... nice..."

"At any rate you should go see-"

Before the father could finish his sentence, the door to the indoor barn and house re-opened; both Link and Talon turned their heads to find the cause of the noise.

A frowning Malon blinked in their lines of sight; when she caught the similarly curious expressions on their faces and the blonde youth standing before her her frown soon lifted into the light grin he saw her wear so well before.

"Fairy boy!" The fire-haired girl exclaimed, her voice dripping with enthusiasm. Link could barely step back before she ran toward him and grasped him by his skinny right arm, surprising him; he let out a startled gasp but attempted to catch up with her regardless in his clumsy movement. "Come on; let's go play!"

"Have you finished all your chores?"

Malon turned her blinking frown on her grinning father and stared back at him in a deadpan comical frown, almost as if to suggest her answer from the very expression upon her face. Again, Talon turned his head to the ceiling and laughed boisterously.

"I'm kidding! Go on kids; go have fun!" The girl's father grinned back in a show of his humour, waving the pair off. Satisfied, Malon chuckled, leaving the frowning Link blinking in confusion.

"Thanks daddy!" An excited call came from the ranch lass in response; the wincing Link could only gasp a second time as he was suddenly pulled almost off of his feet, struggling to keep up with his scampering partner. The watching Talon let out a final lingering chuckle as he shook his head at the heart-warming scene before him.

"Ah, to be young again..."

~

"G-Give me a second!" The gasping Link managed to plead out amidst his stammers, eyes widened. The running Malon finally stopped moving, about-turning to face him with a light blink. She joined her hands together daintily as she stared down at him in his attempt to catch his breath. When Link's eyes very briefly wandered in his recovering stance, they widened a second time at the sight before him; his previously missing friend Navi was laying on a bag of what seemed to be hay or some other kind of farm provision. Her usually bright light was dimmed significantly, signifying what seemed to be rest.

She was sleeping.

He didn't know why it surprised him so much; he himself had just been sleeping after all.

But having just been through an ordeal like the night's before and being dragged out by his saviour had left a surprisingly sour taste in his mouth when he caught the sight of his guide laying dozing in the morning sun.

"Navi!" He called over comically, half-annoyed, half-amazed at her carelessness.

She yawned back at him, seemingly re-opening her eyes past her blue dim body, as if facing him. "Oh, you're up?"

Link found himself narrowing an eye at her in a display of his light annoyance; Malon laughed as she watched the pair converse.

"Well, just go and relax your injuries off with Malon; I'm going back to sleep." The little Navi waved him off in a rather flippant manner. Link's frown deepened, this time to a softer one.

What about Kaepora?

What happened to him?

"My thoughts exactly! Come on fairy boy!"

With barely any extra time to press his guardian fairy, Malon suddenly gripped his left arm and pulled him along as she ran; Link gasped, forcing his legs to follow her surprising speed. He could barely catch the surroundings of where they ran; when he saw the inside of what seemed to be another barn he finally caught his breath when she stopped moving.

"Over here!"

When he heard her voice call him over he turned his blinking blue eyes over to the creature in the pen she was seemingly leaning over to; a vegetable he recognised was held in her hand, a long orange thing.

A carrot.

The large spotty creature reached forward and gave out a loud call as it leisurely eat the food in Malon's hand; Link couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the creature, flinching noticeably when it cried out.

It didn't seem to be hostile, but...

"Calm down fairy boy!" The farm girl turned to laugh at the blinking youth before she leaned back, the carrot finally completely devoured. "It's just Bessie!"

"B-Bessie...?" Link murmured out in response, briefly eyeing his new friend before facing the creature in question.

It was a large thing, sporting bright white skin with many black spots dotted around its body.

"It's called a 'cow'," Malon chortled over at the clueless Kokiri. "Don't you have these in the forest?"

"N-No I've...," Link began hesitantly as he leaned very carefully up to stare at the quiet animal before him. "I've never seen-"

SMACK

Sudden, intense pain shot through his already injured right arm; he gasped and stumbled back from the animal pen as it did, using his free left hand to grip at it.

"Ingo!"

Malon's sudden call made the little blonde boy blink before bringing his eyes up to find the source of his intense physical pain.

A tall skinny man glared down at the pair of children, a pair of farming tools in both of his hands; he sported what seemed to look like a rake-like weapon in his right hand, resting comfortably over his shoulders. A simple looking crimson bucket was grasped tightly within his coursed right fingers. When Link got a look at his face he found a simple head of brown hair atop him as well as some fearsome looking chestnut eyebrows. Below his angry growling scowl rested some respectable whiskers; a long moustache ran across his facial expression, finishing his countenance off. The white jumpsuit and green under-shirt also seemed to fit him fairly well.

"What in the name of the royal family are you doing to those animals?" The newly introduced man suddenly called over, a loud and demanding tone in his voice.

"Calm down; I'm only giving it an extra carrot!" Malon suddenly shot back at him, leaning forward; Link found his blue eyes widening, jerking his body to his right in order to afford her more room to move.

"One too much!" The scowling Ingo shot back down as he similarly leant his head down to shout his words back to the fiery-haired youth. "The fatter these animals get the less inclined they are to work!"

"That's stupid!" Malon suddenly yelled back at him, aflame in the argument they were currently in. "They deserve a treat from time to time, just like us!"

"'Just like us'...," Ingo clicked his tongue down at her, almost as if disappointed; he pulled his head up from her and chuckled on as he continued. "They're just beasts; no-one cares if they deserve a treat," he shot down at her, eyes narrowed as harshly as the words with which he spoke. Though Malon did not open her mouth to respond she glared back at him, clearly angry with him. Ingo's eyes very briefly wandered to narrow on the similarly frowning and staring Link before he re-opened his mouth. "You shouldn't have guests in the barns. Get him out of here!" The unsociable man snapped out before he suddenly turned, presumably to leave. Link winced as he heard the similarly sharp sound of the barn's door slamming shut strongly, leaving him cringing in response.

"S-Sorry; I shouldn't have-"

"Don't you dare apologise!" The angry farm girl shot out with as she 'rounded her glare on the blinking Link. "He shouldn't have said that!"

The listening Kokiri could only frown back softly, lowering his eyes from hers as he did. "S-Sorry..." He murmured, using his left hand to rub the back of his blonde head.

Malon couldn't help but melt her angry glower into a light and soft smile. "I guess you can't help yourself huh?" She chuckled back at him before reaching forward to take hold of his hand once more. "Come on; let's go play!"

–

3

"Come on fairy boy; it's not that scary!"

"A-Are you... sure?"

"Of course!"

Malon's reply, so full of energy and as fiery as her hair, drove him on; Link very tentatively stepped and reached forward with one of his free hands. The creature before him; a similarly small foal turned its attention briefly away from the tight blades of grass it was chewing to eye the little Kokiri edging toward it.

Tensions began to flare silently between them and Link felt them; he couldn't help but freeze in place as the little foal stared back at him, almost as if waiting for him to make another movement.

"Go on!"

Driven on by Malon's quiet whisper, Link gulped down his anxiety and shakily attempted an extra step forward.

Almost immediately the foal broke out into a run.

The poor little Kokiri was left blinking as he watched the small horse run off, almost as if contact with him was toxic.

That's definitely one way to feel insulted, he thought.

Though it was impossible, the spectating Malon and Navi seemed to read his mind for they suddenly erupted into boisterous laughter. Their voices, both high and critical, sunk into his nerves like tiny daggers. At first the blonde youth found himself 'rounding an annoyed zig-zag frown on the pair however, soon, he found himself turning his light frown into a curling smile of his own.

"I guess it is kinda funny..." He thought to himself, staring back at the laughing pair before him.


	5. All Work & No Play

Chapter 5: All Work and No Play  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.

\--

Having left Kokiri Forest from his instructions given to him by the forest's spirit, the dying Great Deku Tree, Link and his guardian fairy Navi undertook a quest to reach Hyrule Castle and to deliver a message to its princess. While on the way, he meets with another new companion – a talking owl of all things – by the name of 'Kaepora Gaebora'. This new friend explains his connection to the Great Deku Tree and his duty in assisting the youth; Link readily accepts his help and the new party of three open up a camp just outside of Zora's River.

Unfortunately for the group however they are ambushed at night in Kaepora's absence; while on a scouting mission, his two charges are attacked by Hyrule Field's horrors at night – Stalchildren. Finding himself outclassed purely through their overwhelming numbers, Link fights to his last breath. As expected, he falls to their sheer strength in force however, luckily for him and his guardian fairy, they are both rescued by the sudden appearance of a horse and cart.

The rescuers identify themselves as ranch owners – Talon, his daughter Malon and his hired hand, Ingo.

Having barely been able to introduce himself, let alone tender his thanks to the family, Link is dragged around incessantly by the fire-haired farm girl. Though he is eternally grateful for not only his and Navi's safety in response to the dire situation they were in...

… he cannot help but let his mind wander back to the missing Kaepora and his last mission to Hyrule Castle.

\--

Scene 1

Link grunted as he raised up the wooden plank he was given earlier and forced it to remain upright horizontally. Carrying sharp nails tightly within his white teeth, the blonde youth's face was scrunched up in a display of effort; he narrowed his eyes with his show of exertion before very carefully using his hammer-holding hand to grasp at the nails gripped in his teeth. Pulling one out he placed it very carefully on the left side of the plank on which he held before, again, carefully hammering it in.

With three satisfying knocks the nail went in. Link found himself smiling in spite of the nails hanging in his mouth.

I wonder if this is how a real ranch-hand feels like, he thought.

"Boo!"

"Gagh!" Link exclaimed, eyes widened, temper flared and 'rounding his shocked look behind him. The grinning Malon leant over his work, watching him with a worrying look in her eye, her hands joined behind her modest frame. "M-Malon...," Link greeted, gasping as he briefly shut his eyes, recovering from her jump-scare prank. "P-Please be careful," the lenient boy whispered as he raised up his hands as if to dissuade her from something; she stared at him with a curious blink. "I'm trying to-"

"What even are you doing fairy boy?" The inquisitive farm girl questioned him in her similarly unsure frown. "Are you working?" She asked, this time scrutinising his actions with a sharp narrow of her blue eyes. Link couldn't help to cringe in response, avoiding her eyes as he rubbed the back of his open blonde head in a nervous fashion.

"W-Well yeah, I mean-"

"But aren't we guests?"

The sudden interruption caused the pair to 'round their eyes skyward only to find the familiar blue light buzzing around them.

Navi.

"Exactly!" Malon agreed, her tone firm and her face frowning deeply; she 'rounded her strong-faced frown on the weakly-expressed knelt Link. The flame-haired lass' frown deepened even further when she examined his work, her brain very quickly working the situation out. Soon, her livid blue orbs snapped to face him and Link couldn't help but wince as they did. "Did Ingo tell you to do this?"

Malon could be scary when she wanted to be...

"N-No, I promise," the little Kokiri gasped out, laying the hammer down and joining his two hands in what seemed to be an apologetic gesture. He forced a shaky smile as he faced his rescuer and benefactor. "I just felt... that I should repay you all back for saving me." Link finished, this time with a surer smile upon his face.

He wasn't lying after all – the reasoning was sound.

"And, to be honest...," he thought, his mind wandering as it usually did. "I don't think Kaepora would be a fan of me lazing around... even if I was injured..."

"But you don't have to do that...," Malon soothed, her tone much softer this time as she knelt down to his level; the little farm girl reached forward and took his two joined hands into her own. When he blinked back at her, watching her expression, he found her expression noticeably delicate in complete contrast to her earlier scrunched up scrutinisation. "You're not just a guest, you're one of us." She finished, this time in a light smile. Link stared back at her in his unsure blink, his two joined hands in her similarly soft grip before he soon turned his eyes away from hers, a very sparse shading of red upon his cheeks.

This was the second time a girl had made him feel this way; antsy, uncomfortable and very self-conscious.

"I thought only Saria could do this kind of thing..."

His thoughts, however naïve, were regardless interrupted by the sudden buzz of his guardian fairy; her bulbous blue body flitted in between them and brought the two out of their own little world.

"You need to be resting up for our journey anyway," Navi interrupted softly but firmly enough that she grabbed the pair's attention; they turned their blinking blue eyes on her, surprised. "We don't know when Kaepora will come looking for us so we need to be ready." The little guardian fairy spoke. Her words elicited a curious look in the clueless eyes of the listening farm girl but Link smiled knowingly and very softly, running a hand through his blonde fringe as he did.

"I know... that's why I'm working," Link admitted in his nervous laugh, turning his smile back up to face his charge. "I feel like if he caught me doing nothing he'd be angry." The guilty Kokiri claimed, turning his zig-zag frown away from the two females in a comical fashion.

"Who's Kaepora?" Malon suddenly interjected with, causing the adventuring pair to exchange unsure looks with one another.

Should we tell her, he thought.

"Just... a friend," Link chuckled out, noticeably nervous and awkward; she took attention to it and narrowed her eyes down at him in a further display of scrutinisation. He couldn't help but feel as if he were under some kind of examination. "We... met up with him on the way to the castle."

"To see the princess of destiny huh?" Malon tried, raising a curious eyebrow. When Link's own blonde ones shot up in recognition she let a knowing grin cross her face. "Can't fool me fairy boy!"

Link laughed, halfway in an attempt to alleviate whatever awkward atmosphere was remaining in the air.

It did not seem to help.

"Ah!"

The second sudden interruption made Link jerk his eyes further up, this time to his left. The hard-frowning Ingo stared back down at him, this time folded-armed and without his farming tools. Link smiled weakly back in response as he faced the older man above him. Though Malon followed him in his head-turn, the little girl instead gave the man a death glare.

"I'm glad someone listens around here...," the ranch-hand grumbled, his words seemingly directed down to the similarly glaring Malon. "A man pays his debts! Good work." Ingo confirmed in an approving nod toward the plank in Link's earlier possession; the little Kokiri found himself very briefly eyeing it before chortling very quietly and rubbing the back of his blonde head as he did.

"There's no debt; it's not as if-"

"Dinner's almost ready; Talon told me to round you all up." Ingo cut off the blinking Malon's retort with his own. With a final look at the three below him he about-turned and left, his footsteps and the door shutting behind him echoing on. The group of three were left in light silence before, finally, someone spoke up.

"Ooh; I hate him!" Malon quietly seethed to herself, her fingers clenched together roughly. "He thinks he can just do whatever he wants!"

Though he knew she had no way of knowing, Link couldn't help but allow his mind to wander back sombrely to his last days in Kokiri Forest. Mido's parting words to him echoed throughout his mind.

"I hate you! You should never have been born! You've never been one of us!"

He may as well have been cast out of the Kokiri Forest.

"Link, what's wrong?"

Navi's sudden call, though concerned and thoughtful, felt forced and encroaching. When he turned his cerulean eyes up to face the curious little ball of light he contrived another weak smile on his face, eliciting a similarly curious look on the blinking Malon.

"N-Nothing; I'm fine." He laughed back, his eyes briefly shut before soon re-opening them.

Though both Navi and Malon exchanged unsure and concerned expressions they didn't seem to voice their thoughts; instead they both faced him with a similar smile on their faces.

"Don't take too long out here then... 'kay?" Malon smiled back down at him, softly caressing her hand on his before she abruptly turned to leave. Though his quiet guardian fairy turned her head from both the leaving Malon and the frowning Link she finally swivelled her flight path to join the leaving farm girl.

Link's left hand instinctively brushed the soft hand she touched, almost as if to respond to her in spite of her absence. His eyebrows lowered and his brow furrowed as he frowned down at his fingers before re-raising his eyes to face the closed door on his sharp-left.

Strange, he thought.

It almost felt like she was trying to tell him something.

~

When he entered what seemed to be the main building to Lon Lon Ranch, Link found the table normally utilised to prop Talon's head was moved toward the centre of the main living room. In spite of what he remembered, the cucco that he once saw littering the area seemed to be gone, presumably moved to a different area.

Probably to make room, he thought.

To his further surprise, he found not only Talon and Malon standing and sat around the table respectively but the hard-frowning Ingo seated on the far south end. Even Navi sat around Malon's orange ascot-like scarf.

I guess everyone really is present for dinner, he thought.

"Come on in son; come, join us!" Talon exclaimed over with a wide grin upon his face, as social as usual; he pulled the little Kokiri hanging in the doorway with a wave of his beefy right hand. Link couldn't help but smile lightly in response as he tread on in the living area. When Malon turned to smile over at him and pat the open chair next to hers he found himself aiming for it.

Better not to disappoint, he thought.

And it was easiest to reach after all.

When he took the seat, plonking himself down, he blinked when he found himself in a shorter height than his flame-haired friend; she noticed and couldn't help but grin down at him. When she ruffled his blonde fringe mockingly he found himself staring at her in a lightly annoyed pouting expression. The scene made the watching Talon laugh.

"She knows how to get your goat boy; I know how that feels!" The man laughed uproariously as loud as he usually did. Although fighting a light grin of his own he tried to keep his annoyed frown upon his expression in an attempt to maintain the comedic joy. Even the watching Ingo gave a light chuckle amidst his spectating grunt; he offered the sitting Link a greeting and respectable nod. The forest-bound youth gave him a light smile of his own.

I like this feeling, he thought.

Is this what having friends feels like?

Maybe even... family?

The only other person he felt this with was Saria.

Suddenly, his mind returning to the Kokiri Forest and his best friend, made him very feel guilty indeed.

"How have you been spending the time on the farm then Link, eh?" Talon began in his usual sociable smile as he reached forward with some utensils to cut the generously sized turkey on the table. "Enjoying yourself?"

"If you could call work 'enjoyment'," Malon shot in with as she punctuated her poking but notably concerned words into the conversation. Link couldn't help but wincing as she spoke to his left, listening away. "We've barely had any time to spend together."

"Oh that's no good," Talon frowned in what seemed to be disappointment, briefly pausing from his task as he faced the two children. "You're still kids; you should enjoy the time you have together!" He claimed, this time with a light smile. Link nodded, a smile of his own in fear of ruining the mood. "What was it you were doing anyway son?" The farm owner asked, blinking down at him in curiosity. Though Link opened his mouth to reply, he was seemingly beat to it.

"Mending one of our fences in the barn," Ingo answered for him from the bottom of the table. Talon blinked a second time as he swivelled his head 'round to face the younger man before lightly smiling. "I applaud him for helping out around here; a guest shouldn't just be a drain on our resources." The hard-worker revealed, his fingers and hands still threaded carefully together on the table before him. When he eyed the frowning Link he passed another nod at the blonde youth; Link put on another lightweight smile in response, feeling obligated to.

"But he's not just a drain on our resources!" Malon spoke up for the little Kokiri, leaning forward on the table as she spoke to face the older ranch-hand. Ingo's small cerulean eyes darted over to confront the little red-haired girl, narrowing lightly. "He's the first guest we've had in years; a guest shouldn't have to work!"

"It certainly doesn't help us when our medical supplies are eaten up for nothing," Ingo shot back in a calmer tone of voice, however, his hard-frowning expression said all; a narrow-eyed glower. "Rupees don't just grow on trees little lady!"

"Money's got nothing to do with it!" Malon fired right back, her own sky-blue eyes narrowed at him fiercely. She stood up from her seat in a veritable display of rebellion as she did so. "He needed help so it was the humane thing to do!"

"All right come on now," Talon laughed in an attempt to keep the peace between the pair. "How little Link wants to spend his time is up to him; how about we leave it at that?" The stocky, joyful man smiled in between the group of five. Though sighing deftly through his nose, Ingo nodded; Malon gave the moustached man a final glare before sitting back down in her seat, noticeably annoyed. "I'm sure we'd all like to dig in! Wouldn't we son?" Talon finished as he cut off a decent-sized portion of the turkey, holding it out for the lightly smiling Link.

"Y-Yes please..." The Kokiri youth nodded gratefully, raising up his plate as he did.

As Talon placed the portion upon his plate, Link gasped quietly to himself when he felt his left side being poked. Placing his platter down on the sturdy table he turned his blinking blue orbs on the farm girl next to him. Though she seemed to be facing the other way, perhaps intently, her free right hand contained something she was seemingly handing over to him. When he noticed, with yet another curious blink, he reached down with his free left hand and grasped at the item in her hand.

Seemingly a piece of paper of all things, very small in size.

When he opened it up he read it as thus.

Meet me in the field after dinner

He re-raised his curious-fresh face up to frown back at her, surprised. As before however, she didn't seem to face him, seemingly inaudibly conversing with Navi on her left shoulder. Link gave her a final blink before eventually turning his quiet attention to the turkey on his plate, reaching for his utensils.

–

2

Crows and owls hooted and called throughout the otherwise quiet night air, leaving the standing Link feeling out of sorts. The lazy but strong-sounding wind made him feel cold in spite of the surprisingly warm humid air. Standing just outside of the main ranch's pen, he leant his back against the wooden wall behind him, turning his gaze skyward. Watching the brightly lit stars amidst the shadowy night atmosphere above, Link placed his hands into his tunic's pockets and couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He still felt horrible about leaving Kaepora holding the bag back at Hyrule Field, right before the Stalchildren attacked them.

What choice did I have though, he thought.

"Sorry Kaepora..." He breathed out quietly to himself, his frown becoming softer as he watched the large-faced moon staring back down on him. "Maybe it won't be so hard to find us...?" He finished, this time with a hopeful little smile upon his face. With his melancholic smile, he reached into his tunic for the treasured possession once given to him by his closest friend. His mind wandered briefly to her and how she was doing in Kokiri Forest. He couldn't help but smile a little more strongly this time as he brought the instrument up around to his lips before double-taking to his right.

When he felt the approaching presence of a person accompanied with some similar-sounding footsteps however he swivelled his blonde head 'round to his right. Barely catching the appearance of the frowning Malon on his right, she grasped his right arm before he could utter a word and pulled him toward the building ahead of them.

"M-Malon, what's-?"

He barely had time to ask his question, interrupting himself with a surprised gasp when he found himself being pulled into the now open door of the building she walked them toward.

"W-Where...?" Link began softly, turning his gaze around the area.

Another barn, it seemed.

Two cows rested in the top right corner, seemingly nibbling at a stray bale of hay. A number of tools Link couldn't recognise – seemingly farming tools – rested in the bottom right corner of the building, spread out around the angle. Similar appliances were dotted around the corner to his left; his sky-blue eyes however were drawn to the large wooden crates in the top-left of the room. With symbols of a cow's face on them, it appeared they contained goods and products derived from them. He counted six in total.

Supplies probably, he thought.

"Come on!"

Malon's call made the Kokiri youth widen his eyes, breaking him out of his concentration; she pulled him, again, toward the crates.

"Normally I have trouble with these...," the mischievous little farm girl began as they stopped just outside of the area before soon about-turning to grin at him. "But now that I have a big strong boy to help me we can get through here easy!"

Though he knew she was referring to him, Link couldn't help but force a smile in response, his confidence wasn't at the level hers was. He followed her as she moved toward the wooden crates, expecting assistance; with a light grunt he managed to move enough of the boxes for the pair to traverse through.

What are we even doing here, he thought.

Could be anything.

His silent ruminations were answered when he found a hidden crawlspace in the bottom left of the area they stood around; his cerulean eyes widened in surprise.

"Impressed?" Malon quipped over her shoulder as she made toward the small tunnel. Link couldn't help but grin this time in response.

She had definitely planned this.

"A little." He admitted in his light grin.

Soon enough the little Kokiri found himself following the surprisingly nimble Malon down the crawlspace before them both. Though he felt a little odd in doing so he tried not to let it spoil the mood. Before the air could become awkward between the two they finally reached the end of the area. As Link emerged from the space he found her striding forward to rest in the one noticeable feature; a single bale of hay. The crouching Malon moved forward before soon about-turning to rest her back and the rest of her body upon the soft bundle of fodder below. She nodded her fiery-haired head up at him as she smiled in his direction, as if a silent gesture for him to approach. Link moved forward and allowed himself to rest next to the farm youth.

He suddenly realised why she was doing this.

Before the pair of children, a grand show of the night sky and the moon shining down on them bore fruit skyward. Seemingly, it would appear that the building the two were in was in dire need of repairs; the top portion of the architecture was missing a huge gaping hole in the centre, allowing the two an incredible view of the night sky.

"Woah..." He breathed out incredulously, his sky-blue eyes widened at the marvel above.

"I know... it's beautiful," Malon agreed softly, her voice as light as the night air they breathed; she smiled up at the stars looking down on them from the heavens. The silvery moonlight bathed the two in a similar-seeming glow. "Aren't you glad I got you out here tonight?"

"Y-Yeah..." Link deigned to concede in a light nod of his own, smiling very tentatively. He nearly flinched when he felt her fingers very sneakily slink into his; the blonde youth couldn't help but blush, suddenly feeling very delicate indeed.

"I sometimes come out here when things get to be too much in the ranch," she admitted, her voice as light as the air they breathed. "It's always looked so beautiful."

Link finally allowed his nerves to settle and, as they did, he briefly turned his eyes up to the sky once more and smiled as he spoke to finally add to the conversation. "All the years I spent in Kokiri Forest and not once have I seen a view like this." He claimed in his widening smile, growing more comfortable with the situation as he spoke.

"Do you really mean that?"

Link blinked and in a mix of surprise and curiosity at the tone of her voice, he turned his head back around to face hers; she stared back at him in a soft and melancholic frown. There a new sense of tension in the air that Link could sense... but just barely. He stared back at her wordlessly for a mere second or two before finally re-opening his mouth.

"U-Um... yes, of course I do," the unsure boy managed to murmur out in response, blinking as he found comfort in doing so. "W-Why?"

This time Malon smiled back at him, visibly shaking her head very softly back at him. As she turned her gaze skyward once more her fingers squeezed his a little firmer, still a gentle grip in foundation. "This is the first time I've told someone about this." The farm girl spoke softly as she smiled up; Link traced her gaze to frown curiously, processing her words carefully.

'This', as in, this place perhaps?

Suddenly his memories of spending time with Saria in her secret place came to mind.

That's what she meant!

"She really is showing me something she cares about..."

His thoughts, genuine and surprised, made him curve his blonde head back 'round to face her. As if sensing his eyes on her she swivelled 'round to smile on back at him, seemingly all-knowing.

"I know I've only known you a few days... but...," she began hesitantly, her eyes very briefly lowering before re-raising to face him. "I like you." The fire-haired girl ended, this time with a disarming smile on her face; Link's eyes widened as he listened.

Words he had wished to hear since the beginning...

… just from the wrong person.

A strong surge of guilt suddenly shot through his body and he felt horrible for the way his thoughts went when she spoke. Instead, he chose to put on a smile of his own and nodded very lightly.

"I-I think I like you too." He responded; his words, though genuine and truthful as they always were, carried a hint of uncertainty. He didn't expect Malon to notice.

But she did.

She gave him a smile back but, this time, there was something different about it; Link watched it carefully for signs of things he recognised... but he could not find any.

It seemed kind of sad somehow.

"I hope, one day...," Malon re-started in her smile as she turned one final time to stare at the sky looking down on them both once more. "That you'll tell me what's important to you..."


	6. A Friendship to Last Forever

Chapter 6: A Friendship to Last Forever  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.

\--

In his journey to Hyrule Castle, Link and Navi become sidetracked in their final quest – to deliver a last message to the country's princess. While on their way they meet and discover a new companion, a talking owl by the name of Kaepora Gaebora; he explains his connection to the Great Deku Tree and, while out in Hyrule Field, becomes separated from the heroes.

Fortunately, ranch-hands from Lon Lon Ranch discover the unconscious Link and save the pair. Grateful for their continued hospitality, Link decides on his own to repay Talon and his family by putting himself to work while he recuperates from his earlier injuries. Though Malon is not shy about letting him know of her disapproval, Talon and Ingo are pleased by his efforts and he earns his way into their lives little by little.

Finally up to speed on his charge's location, Kaepora returns from his scouting effort resolved and renewed; having followed tracks and clues, he makes the flight to Lon Lon Ranch. In an effort to reclaim the missing boy and his guardian fairy, Kaepora hopes to put the three fast back on track and return to their quest in searching for Hyrule's 'princess of destiny'.

On his final day of recuperation, Link awakes from what was once a peaceful slumber indeed, unaware that his scarce few days of rest and relaxation are at an end...

\--

Scene 1

The smell of freshly cut grass still lingered in the air; as he paced forward, his sky-blue eyes could barely make out the details of the darkness around him in spite of the fact his eyes should have adjusted by now.

Where am I, he thought.

A courtyard of all things?

Link's eleven year old mind raced.

Wasn't I at Lon Lon Ranch? Why am I here? Where is here?

He dared to step forward, eyes narrowing through the inky blackness that pervaded the area before him. If it weren't for how dark it was, Link would almost feel at peace.

It seemed to be a very well-off place if anything.

His eyebrows suddenly lifted when he caught sight of two regally designed windows at his sides.

Was this the castle?

How did I get here?

His premature thoughts were soon stuck through with a veritable pin; his cerulean eyes widened when he caught movement dead ahead. Link snapped himself 'round to stare in front only to find what seemed to be a platform and a small staircase that led to it. A person, cloaked in shadow, about-turned to face him and Link couldn't help but watch; purely transfixed. Seemingly guarding a window of all things, the mysterious figure strode very slowly and carefully toward him. His eyes narrowed at them, examining.

They seemed to wear what appeared to be a similarly noble-like clothing; the dress and headdress made him realise it wasn't a male, like himself.

"Link..."

His eyes widened and he held back from gasping.

How did she-?

"I've waited so long for you..."

He watched, his brow furrowed carefully as she finally walked into his light.

Two small strands of forest-green hair that cascaded down from the sides of her face made him realise who it was.

As if her face wasn't already a tell.

"Saria...," Link breathed out, taking a shocked step backward. "H-How-?"

Sure enough, it was her all right – the emerald haired companion he had left behind in his old home of Kokiri Forest now stood before him.

And she looked even more radiant than he remembered.

"I'm so proud of you...," she breathed out as she approached him; he didn't even flinch when she raised her hands to softly cup the sides of his rosy-red cheeks. He could only stare back at her, mystified at her presence. "Please... don't..." She began again and this time a saddened tone with a melancholic frown attached to her expression.

Link could only scrunch one of his eyes in an attempt to work out what she was talking about.

A tear visibly stained the sides of her eyes and she shook her head at him. "Don't leave me..."

His own expression turned similarly soft and he raised his left hand to rest over hers gently; with a similarly tender shake of his head he put on a light smile. "I could never..."

"You will...," Saria shot back almost as quickly as he could; Link's eyebrows lifted in surprise at her sudden reaffirmation. "You won't be who I remember..."

What in the name of the Great Deku Tree did she mean?

He opened his mouth to respond but no words seemed to come out. His eyes widened and, annoyed, he tried again only to be met with the same failure as before.

Angered now, he re-opened his mouth a third time and shouted back at the girl before him.

"Shin'ozo... Tomete Kureru..."

His words were drowned out by the appearance of a new participant's; Link's eyes widened for the last time in surprise as Saria's form soon began to fade, almost as if being devoured by the deep voice he had once heard.

Link began to feel uneasy.

Behind the fading Saria, a low-stalking figure approached him from the platform she once stood on; when it walked into the light, his eyes widened at its form.

It was him.

"Satsui-najkara... Shioma-tometeru!"

Its words, oddly familiar, echoed deep within the walls of the courtyard they stood in and, re-examining the low-grinning form before him, he again found it wearing similar clothing to himself. A young boy with a savage aura of what seemed to be power of all things; the Kokiri Sword, Deku Shield, clothes and even the blonde hair he wore told him again.

This was him.

But how? And why?

Link barely had time to ponder any further; he couldn't help but gasp this time when he found he couldn't move.

He couldn't even speak.

Horror filled his entire being.

The demonic form of himself soon advanced on him, his crimson and fiery eyes widened in what seemed to be hunger; the war-cry that escaped his lips gave one final echo to the plains in which they stood in.

"MESSATSU!"

~

Link's gasp followed through with him when he woke; his oceanic eyes darted 'round in a mix of terror and disorientation.

When he found himself inside the crawlspace he remembered from the night before, his heart very slowly stopped its incessant hammering.

Thank the goddesses, he thought.

Just a nightmare.

A new surprise awaited the youth however when he double-took his sky-blue eyes to his left.

Malon lay directly next to him, her similarly small arms wrapped around his body; one snuck 'round his back and her left resting upon his chest.

A very embarrassing posture indeed.

Sleep paralysis was a horrible thing to endure, as he had known often in the past. Normally when he had a bout of it in his earlier youth he had taken the time to stay at Saria's house. Sleeping next to someone had always helped...

Just like it helped now.

"What was your dream about...?"

Link's eyebrows lifted in surprise when he heard Malon's soft voice murmur up toward him. She re-opened her eyes to face him and smiled as she did.

How long had she been awake?

Long enough to know he was dreaming, he thought.

"N-Nothing too bad; it's very rare I remember my dreams." He attempted to lie, chuckling nervously in his casual chuckle. Malon lost her smile in favour of a disapproving and disbelieving frown; Link suddenly realised even he could not deceive the sharp-minded farm girl.

I can't tell her though, he thought.

It's such a horrifying dream; worse even than the recurring one he dealt with in the Kokiri Forest. And yet the determined look in Malon's eyes made his resolve very gradually soften.

She saved my life, he thought.

She deserves to know.

And, so, the little blonde youth opted to tell his new companion his story. When given the information, Malon reacted in a way that honestly surprised him. While he expected shunning or, at the very least, a subject change Malon instead pressed him further.

"Why would you see yourself in a dream like that?" The flame-haired girl asked, tilting her head to the side as she spoke, seemingly honestly curious. "Actually... I'm more curious about this friend of yours, from your home." She asked, sporting a low grin as she moved to sit herself up.

Link's eyes very subtly widened as he listened.

Mistake, he thought.

"Y-You mean-?"

"You've mentioned her before," Malon smiled back at him, raising a curious crimson eyebrow. "Saria, is it?"

One of his eyes narrowed as she spoke.

I never talked about her to you, he thought.

Would it be rude to call her out for that?

Maybe she just overhead me call out her name; wouldn't be the first time I've dreamt about her, he thought.

"She's... my best friend," he admitted genuinely and honestly, lowering his oceanic-blue eyes as he thought of the young Kokiri in question. "For a long time... she was my only friend," the blonde claimed boldly, his frown turning gloomy but authentic. "If it wasn't for her... I'd probably have done terrible things."

His mind, as he spoke, went back to that strange form of himself he saw.

'Shin'ozo... Tomete Kureru'...

Strange, he thought.

They sounded so recognisable; almost as if he had spoke them himself mere days ago.

"You don't mean that," Malon sounded out softly this time, frowning as she spoke. "You're one of the nicest people I've ever met; how would you even think of...?"

"I... blamed... a lot of people," Link responded; he briefly shut his eyes as he did, none too proud to admit to any of this. "Mainly for how they treated me; no-one wanted to be associated with me because of the fact I never had a fairy."

"But you have Navi, don't-?"

"Not back then," he corrected her, this time in a light smile as he re-faced her with his blue eyes. His soft but sad frown returned to his face when he continued. "To go through my whole Kokiri life like the rest of them without what they already had... it was so humiliating." The former outcast claimed, speaking from memory.

"That's terrible," Malon lamented; her resting hand on his chest soon hovered to thread together with his own right hand. Though he blushed from the contact he said nothing. "I'd have been your friend." She tried in a hopeful little smile, leaning over his small chest as she did. Link gave the young girl a half-measured smile before allowing his frown to return.

He didn't want to spoil the mood (or be rude) but he didn't believe her.

It was always easiest to see the worst in people.

"And in fact...," Malon re-began, this time with a wider smile upon her face as she did. "We're going to make you another friend." She finished, this time with a deft poke of her finger onto the brown over-shirt provided to him, a knowing and almost mischievous grin on her face.

Link could only blink at the youth.

–

2

When he found himself in the pen a second time he couldn't help but feel stupid.

Very stupid.

In spite of that however, when Link turned his blonde-haired head around to face his companions behind him, he found the smiling Malon and Navi resting on her shoulder watching over him.

They're going to laugh again I bet, he thought in a comical deadpan-like frown.

"So I just-?" He began hesitantly as he reached for the treasured Fairy Ocarina that Saria had gifted him with mere days earlier. The spectating Malon merely nodded along with him as she watched, her smile growing.

"You can do it fairy boy!"

"Oh I can, can I?"

Though he didn't give voice to his silent thoughts he shot the watching pair a half-suspicious, half-amused look of his own before soon re-turning to face the biggest challenge he had met with yet.

Epona, the quick-to-scare young foal.

Instead of blindly rushing the poor little horse, Link chose to do as instructed and went for the prize that his best friend had gifted him. Lifting it to his lips he slowly shut his blue eyes and felt around the instrument he held within his hands for the correct air holes with which to blow through. Concentrating hard on the tune that his new companion had taught him, he scrunched his eyes shut even firmer as he began to play the melody.

To his surprise, it came out as he had hoped; even the tougher notes with which he'd once had trouble with.

I suppose that's what practice is for, he thought.

He never even noticed a strange tic he seemed to have; swaying from side to side very softly as he played through the melody of the song – Epona's Song. It was only when the little foal in question stepped forward amidst his playing to nudge him that he realised; his blue eyes widened when he caught himself swaying and, when he turned to find the little horse a mere yard away from him, he could barely believe his eyes.

"I told you!"

Having watched the proceedings, Malon rushed the surprised Kokiri with a slamming hug, a proud laugh upon her lips. Navi bounced alongside her, seemingly similarly overjoyed. Though happy in his seeming success, Link couldn't help but feel annoyed when he felt both Malon and the previously unfriendly Epona leaning and nudged into him respectively.

Barely any space for myself, he thought comically.

"See?!" The farm girl exclaimed excitedly as she re-turned her beaming grin up to face him in her hug, making the blonde blink back down at her. "You can do anything if you try!"

He had to stare back down at her in a goofy, sardonic grin.

"Where was this when I failed last time?" He pondered back in response in his light grin.

Still though, he thought, his grin lowering in favour of a surprised frown.

I never thought I'd see the day Epona would do anything but run from me, he finished ruminating as he re-turned to face the frowning little foal next to him. The blonde youth couldn't help but put on a light smile as he ran one of his hands across its pretty little mane.

It felt satisfying somehow.

~

With a hardened frown upon his face, Link allowed his newly washed green Kokiri Tunic to slide over his small chest; he shot his two skinny arms to his side and, using the mirror provided to him, examined himself.

Bereft of the bandages that once hung over his body as a result of his run-in with the Stalchildren, he stood now without and, inevitably, stronger. The young boy couldn't help but smile in response to the picture-perfect posture he carried.

That looks better, he thought.

He was very grateful to Talon, Malon and Ingo for their clothes and help but he didn't feel himself in anything but his old Kokiri garb. Like this, he was more confident.

"Link! Are you ready?"

The youth in question craned his neck to his left and blinked.

Navi's voice.

"Sure! I'll be right there!" He called back, using his free left arm to amplify his voice.

Earlier, surprising both himself and his guardian fairy (as well as the ranch-hands themselves) Kaepora, it seemed, had finally located them. Opting to turn to speaking to Navi instead of risking communications with anyone else, the anxious bird-like creature made certain to press the recovered pair on and ready themselves to leave.

It was only a few days but, to Link, it felt like a few weeks.

It was a nice change.

Reaching for his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, hanging against the wall next to the mirror he used, Link grabbed and placed them across the belt he used to affix them to his body.

Strange, he thought; I barely feel the weight of these like I used to.

All that payback work really paid off.

A grin shot across his boyish expression and, for the first time, he felt good about himself and about his adventure.

Mainly because it was nearly over.

"With this strength...," he thought, raising up his left unclenched fist before soon eyeing it hungrily. "I'll deliver the Deku Tree's last message and make it back to Kokiri Forest; Saria, I'm coming home!"

With that morale-raising reflection thundering through his head, the grinning boy rushed out the door and down the stairs to leave the farm house. When he did however, he found himself surprised in more of a sense than he thought he could have been; when exiting Lon Lon Ranch's farm house he blinked at the sight of all three of the ranch owners standing before him.

It was almost as if they were waiting for him.

Kaepora watched the group from a safe distance; perched on one of the farm buildings above them all, watching silently.

Probably the safest idea, he thought; better not to reveal the fact he can talk.

"Your little critter friend let us know you were finally ready to go son!" Talon began in greeting as he smiled widely over at the frowning youth. "So we all clubbed together... and..." The large man began, reaching over to his similarly smiling daughter and contrastingly frowning companion Ingo for something.

Seemingly resting in Ingo's grip, the tall man pulled out what seemed to be an amulet of sorts before handing it over to his superior. Talon smiled as he hovered the amulet over one final time toward his similarly smiling daughter. With an analogous smile upon her lips, Malon strode over slowly and softly hung the amulet 'round the boy's neck. Speechless, Link could only turn his widened blue eyes down to the amulet wrapped loosely 'round his neck; it seemed to be of a strange creature of some kind, dragon-like in nature. It looked oddly hostile and yet comical somehow.

A strange combination.

"Little Malon did most of the work; sat up for nights she did." Talon commented over, folding his arms as he beamed down at the youth in what seemed to be pride.

"Dad!" Malon suddenly exclaimed, feeling very exposed; Link couldn't help but smile in half-gratitude, half-amusement as he watched.

The fire-haired farm girl eventually turned her annoyed frown away from the watching pair of adults before, finally, reaching forward to grasp at the similarly spectating Link's hands. He dropped his smile when he felt her unsurprising gentle touch and, suddenly realising the stares on them both, soon felt a similar sense of embarrassment. Abruptly noticing their presence, Talon grabbed the folded-armed Ingo and cleared themselves away to give the two children privacy. Grateful for his effort Malon shot her father an appreciative smile as he marched off, Ingo in tow. Turning to re-face the young Kokiri, Malon's face softened up.

"I'll miss you," she admitted honestly, her voice taking on a similarly tender tone. Link found himself staring back into her own eyes, a strangely sad kind of frown adorned on his face. "Will you think of me?" She pressed him further. Link's slow smile soon returned to his complexion as he stared back at her; with a confirming and confident nod, he opened his mouth to reply.

"I know I will," the young Kokiri admitted in his own smile, leaning his blonde-haired head to the side as he spoke. He briefly shut his eyes as he finished his sentence. "I'll always owe you my life."

Seemingly disappointed with what he said, Malon lowered her own head and frowned sadly in response; Link could only blink in light confusion.

What was she looking for?

As if triggered by the look in her eyes, his mind suddenly reminded him of the words they shared the night before in her secret place.

I think I know what she's looking for, he thought.

He couldn't help but gulp down his saliva, lower his blue eyes and shake his booted feet in red-faced embarrassment.

"All right... it's now or never..."

With that reflection driving him on, Link gathered his courage, leaning very hesitantly and slowly forward he put on a light frown; noticing his movement, Malon's eyes widened as she re-faced him. She waited in what seemed to be a mix of curiosity and interest as he leaned toward her. In the most intimate gesture he could think of, the little Kokiri very softly and carefully planted a modest kiss upon the red-haired girl's left cheek. She couldn't help but gasp and, in spite of his touch, did not stiffen as he expected. Even as he pulled himself back from her he half-expected her to push him away somehow, just as everyone else at Kokiri Forest had.

But she didn't.

Instead, she pulled only one of her hands to softly graze the side of her cheek he touched before her smile slowly returned to her. With a more confident look in her eyes she leaned in closer herself; her own gesture. Surprising him this time, Malon's smile remained constant with her as she leaned herself closer; further shocking the young Kokiri, the taller youth allowed her lips to very softly brush against his. Even in spite of his impressive resilience, Link couldn't help but sharply breathe in, in surprise.

My first kiss, he thought.

He fought the guilty sensations he felt when he realised he was wishing his first kiss would have been with someone else instead. It was difficult to push those rotten feelings down but he did it anyway. A modest caress of their lips exchanged between the two children before, finally, Malon pulled back; seemingly the dominant personality between the two. Time finally began to regain its flow between the pair as she did; Link couldn't help but simply stare back, dumbfounded. His eyes darted in the direction of the sides of her eyes and soon found them watery.

She's going to cry, he thought.

"I'll miss you... fairy boy."

–

3

"I'll miss you too."

"Let's pick up the pace; we're almost there!"

Kaepora's deep and almost regal-like voice made Link snap out of his quiet reverie; he turned his eyes skyward to find the ever dutiful owl flying overhead and close-by, as if careful this time in his overseeing. Though he didn't reply to the guardian, Link put on a light smile as he fingered the amulet he wore for what felt like the umpteenth time since leaving Lon Lon Ranch that morning.

He couldn't help but regret leaving already.

"Would you cut that out?"

He turned his blinking frown on the slow-hovering Navi next to him on his left, raising a blonde eyebrow as if to press her silently for more.

"That's got to be the fifth or so time I've seen you do that," she complained, her tone in a similarly annoyed fashion as she frowned over at him past her usual bright, blue light. "We only just left."

"I know...," Link murmured next to her, his smile slowly re-growing as he returned his attention to the strangely crafted amulet hanging around his neck. "It was just... nice of her is all."

"Nice of them."

Her response couldn't help but bring a clueless frown out of the youth. "Huh?"

"Nice of them; Ingo, Talon and Malon," Navi corrected for him, her tone suggesting a hint of anger. "You're focusing too much on her."

Link chuckled nervously back in response, rubbing the back of his green-capped head. "S-Sorry..." He apologised, half-way as a habit and meaningfully regardless.

What was her problem, he thought.

She was sometimes argumentative but never this bad.

"Ah, here we are; excellent!"

The pair turned their gazes skyward to follow Kaepora's authoritative voice and found him floating up to finally rest it would seem; flapping his wings for the final time, he stuck his talons down on one of the two marble stone platforms of what seemed to be the castle walls. Link's eyes widened in a mix of amazement and disbelief.

If these were the castle walls...

Then how large would Hyrule Castle be?

"Welcome, Link and Navi of Kokiri Forest...," the wise old owl began as he turned his smiling head 'round to face the inside of the city. "To Hyrule Castletown."

"Woah..." The named boy could only gasp out, his eyes widened at the sheer size of the huge area before him. When he saw the golden triangles etched on the walls above his mind went back to the origins the Great Deku Tree was so cordial to inform him on.

The Triforce, he thought with a recognising narrow of his oceanic-blue eyes.

"It's... bigger than I thought it'd be..." Navi admitted, her voice murmuring and low to suggest her shock. Kaepora couldn't help but beam, almost as if in pride.

"Yes... when they built this place... they built it to last," the bird-like creature grinned before regaining his business-like frown on his face. "Now... I cannot guide you any further; I wish not to cause any problems."

Link nodded in understanding; he imagined it must look stupid having an animal talk back to him.

Especially considering his age.

"Are you certain you know what you're looking for?"

"Yes!" Navi dutifully pinged as she bounced high into the air, almost as if to face their guardian and guide. "We are to locate the 'Princess of Destiny', as per the Great Deku Tree's instructions!"

"Correct; she is located inside Hyrule Castle. Getting in there shall be a challenge," he replied. "Take as much time as you both need to but bear in mind; the sooner this is done, the better," he further explained in a similarly decisive nod of his head. "Now; deliver the Great Deku Tree's final message to the country's princess! We are counting on you!" Kaepora finalised with a deft but strong flap of his wings, rising skyward to fly off as he did. Though Link watched the fowl fly off with a light frown and narrow of his eyes, he couldn't help but feel strangely.

This particular area seemed to make him feel as if he had experienced it before, somehow.

And yet he knew that was impossible.

"Come on Link! Let's go!"

~

Even as he followed his flitting fairy friend past the lowered drawbridge, Link found himself staring in awe at the current surroundings; incredible marble stone held the castle walls behind him together, seemingly manned by a single footsoldier. The man in Hyrulean knight armour double-took when he clocked the little Kokiri blonde sauntering in before soon returning to his station with a single huff.

Link's eyes briefly lingered on the taller male before movement from his guardian fairy made him quicken his pace and rip his gaze away. When he followed her into what seemed to be the main street however, his eyes widened in pure astonishment.

"Woah..." The youth could only gasp out at the marvel laying before him.

An untold number of people ran in and around the hustle and bustle of what seemed to be a square-shaped street.

Was this Hyrule Castletown?

Numerous men and women jostled in what seemed to be a queue for something around a stall; when the unfortunate little Kokiri craned his neck and his head over in an attempt to see what it was they were so raptured in. Link gasped however when he was knocked off his boots; a strange man wielding a large crimson bag over his shoulder bumped roughly into him.

"Agh!"

In spite of his exclamation and pained grunt, Navi merely flew on ahead, her determination unchanged. The youth groaned to himself as he watched the Hylian man rush by, seemingly uncaring.

Very rude, he thought.

When he didn't feel the familiar sway of the amulet he wore however, his eyes widened a third time.

Oh no, he thought.

He felt around and, sure enough, it was missing.

"No!"

Terror gripped at his heart and, so, the boy gasped as he lowered himself on all fours in search for the friendship medal he now treasured. Amidst the shaking feet and shocking number of people stomping around, Link braved the chaos of the market square. Panic gripped his heart alongside the frightening terror that wouldn't let go when he heard Navi's voice call on his name.

"No, no, no, no-"

His thoughts, however negative, were soon interrupted.

His eyes widened when his fingers made contact with another set of fingers, these ones softer than his own.

Who-?

He raised his head expectantly, almost expecting to find Malon grinning back at him. Though it was a girl, of all things, she was a stranger. Her cheeks seemed to redden a little as their hands joined involuntarily; what lasted merely a few seconds seemed to last forever within their minds as they drank in each other's appearances. She was a similarly small child, perhaps around the same age as himself; her hair, a similar blonde colour, cascaded down to the small of her back, leaving mere small strands to curtain the sides of her face with. Her eyes, as well, were shaded and coloured a similar cerulean blue to his own to match the similarly sky-blue dress she wore on her small frame.

All in all she was a nice looking girl, similar to Malon in style it would appear.

When he found their contact too much, Link instinctively pulled his fingers back and forced a light smile back in response; the girl stared at him silently for a second before slowly up-turning a corner of her face into a smile of her own.

This one seemed genuine however.

Link's marine eyes double-took when he caught the glint of his familiar treasure where his hand once was; before he could reach down to grab it however, the nameless blonde girl before him gently raised it and shuffled closer. With a friendly smile she hovered the amulet over his neck and, with a light blush adorned on his cheeks, Link allowed her. In spite of their silence, the watching Link couldn't help but grow a very hesitant but soft smile upon his own face; as she began to make the motions to stand up, he followed her.

Who was this person?

"Link! There you are!"

Navi's sudden shrill call made the youth widen his eyes and about-turn; the little blue guardian fairy weaved in and out of the passing Hylian people in a desperate attempt to catch up with the pair of children.

"I lost you in the crowd...," she gasped before rebounding her gaze on the smiling blonde girl opposite him. "Who is...?"

"O-Oh, um... sorry," Link chuckled in nervous apology, rubbing the back of his green-capped head as he did. "I'm... Link," he introduced himself with a light smile, placing his newly free left hand on his child-like chest. "And... this is Navi... of the Kokiri Forest."

"How do you do?" The girl began with a modest and strangely respectful bow; Link couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in light surprise as he watched. "My name is...," she started as she re-raised her head to face him; her similarly cerulean eyes however soon found themselves briefly avoiding his, almost as if in quick thought. He narrowed his own, catching the subtle movement. "Hylia."

Hylia?

As in, Hyrule and the Hylians?

Link couldn't help but stare back at her strangely before very quickly sharing a similar look with the bulbous blue Navi to his sharp-left.

She was either lying to him or some other factor was at play here.

"Th-Thank you for your help," the youth smiled this time as he re-rubbed the back of his head; an old habit. "I was worried I'd lost that..." He chuckled good-naturedly, referring to the amulet he wore.

"I'm glad I could have helped," Hylia spoke delightedly, joining her soft hands ahead of her as she did so. "Is it your first time here?"

Don't get caught in a conversation with her, he thought.

You have to find this country's princess; remember.

"U-Um y-yeah, but..."

"Me too!" She replied, her voice higher and with a sense of excitement to her tone, almost as if feeling his disinterest; her hands seemingly instinctively went to her own chest, as if to press her point on. "I'm here to see my cousin in the royal family."

His eyebrows lifted in recognition and, hopeful, he held back from gasping.

Was she lying?

It was hard to tell, he thought.

"So are... we...," Link shot back very carefully and hesitantly, his brow very lightly furrowing at her in reply. Navi bounced her body on his shoulder; a silent signal for him to shut his mouth. "Do you... know how to get in there?" He asked, referring to the heavily manned castle, raising a curious blonde eyebrow at her. This time, the watching Hylia put on a grin, almost as if satisfied at the result of their conversation; she stepped forward and grasped his left arm before nodding her blonde head in her left direction.

"Let's go!"


	7. Fated Encounter

Chapter 7: Fated Encounter  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Castle Courtyard" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3.

\--

"I'll miss you... fairy boy."

The last words Link were ever to hear from his new friend, Malon of Lon Lon Ranch; a young farm girl of his friend Talon's lineage. In having been rescued by her and her family's efforts, Link's adventure has been salvaged by the efforts of the reliable ranch-hands; though he does not yet know the importance, in making new friends in Malon, Talon, Ingo and even Epona Link has found a home to himself other than the Kokiri Forest.

Having finally located the forest pair after being separated from them in Hyrule Field following the struggle with the Stalchildren, the knowledgable owl Kaepora sets off with Link and Navi in tow toward Hyrule Castletown. When they make their visit however they are sent in alone and, in exploring the busy marketplace, Link meets yet another new companion however this one a little more dubious in nature; a young girl calling herself by the name of 'Hylia'.

Said to be of god-like in origin, Link and Navi highly distrust the seemingly plain-looking blonde girl before him but, offered a chance in meeting the royal family of Hyrule through her, he opts to take the rare opportunity laid at his feet. She claims to be a relative of the aristocratic clan and, though he and Navi both doubt her almost outlandish-sounding assertion, they follow regardless with very little alternatives in the pipeline.

Hyrule Castle and its heir await...

\--

Scene 1

Even while she rushed him, Link, amidst all of his gasps and attempts to follow the scampering girl gripping him by the arm, managed to notice a rather interesting sight. While the trio of adventurers seemed to almost stumble into the outside field for Hyrule Castle, all of Link's attention was instead snagged by the massive queue that led straight back to the Marketplace. He couldn't help but stand and stare when Hylia's run left him in a standing state.

When he traced the long queue however he found, strangely, that it led to a simple-looking table manned by a single person. Another guard, dressed in Hyrulean royal armour, stood by his side as if to be his security for the area. Link couldn't help but stare at each oddly proportioned person in the queue; they all possessed muscle to some standard and were dressed very strangely, some in karate uniform and others even bare-chested. Most were men however.

"Link, what's w-?" Hylia began as she turned back to collect her new companion, blinking. Tracing his stare she soon put on a smile. "Ahh..."

"What's this for?" Link questioned in a furrow of his brow, his mind going through all kinds of scenarios as he swept the area one final time with his eyes. When they ended on the important looking man sitting at the table, they narrowed in examining; he seemed to be wearing a standout doublet and carried with him a quill, seemingly to write with on the tome lying in front of him.

"You don't know it?" The smiling blonde girl to his right made him turn in a raised eyebrow; she briefly faced him before turning her attention to the line of intimidating adults and re-opening her mouth to continue. "It's an Inaugural Campaign!" She explained very vaguely and succinctly; Link merely blinked back at the girl and, getting the point, she rolled her blue eyes and sighed at him. "From Prima? The big organisation that do everything?"

Again, he stared back at her cluelessly.

"I know of Prima."

The pair of children turned their gazes skyward to find Navi hovering her sky-blue light over them knowledgeably.

"Well... at least one of you is informed," Hylia shot out cheekily as she smugly shut her eyes and raised her head up at the staring Kokiri; Link stared back at her in a comical-like deadpan expression, eliciting a laugh from her. "It's a preliminary tournament – for fighters!" She explained to him briefly in her smile as he frowned at her; he turned his blinking eyes to the numerous men and women in line as she spoke.

"Preliminary?" Link parroted, honestly curious and unsure as he tilted his head at her.

"She means it's just one of many," Navi explained for the blonde youth ahead of her; Link turned his gaze upward to face his guardian fairy, raising a curious straw eyebrow at her. "They run a bunch of these all around the world."

"That's correct!" Hylia grinned as she winked at the pair, snapping her fingers as she about-turned and began to march forward. Link raised another eyebrow upward, his eyes darting between the queue and his guide, but kept his pace to follow. "And it all culminates in the world championships!"

"World... championships...?" Link repeated in a murmuring recite of her words, his eyes very briefly wandering to watch the intimidating looking warriors all standing in a line together. "What's that?"

"It's a competition!" She further explained as she re-faced him for a few seconds before turning back as they strode on forward. "Normally at each of these Inaugural Campaigns a lot of these fighters scrap for the chance at the title for champion of the nation but it all counts toward championship points," Hylia elucidated with a bright smile on her face and a single raised index finger. "When you get enough of these points, you qualify for the world championships!"

Link quickly swerved his head in Navi's direction, as if to have her words confirmed. Navi, of course, nodded.

"Anyway... we should be focusing on more important matters..." Hylia began, seemingly redirecting the conversation as she finally stopped her march. Link re-faced her, raising a curious eyebrow upward as he watched her fold her arms back at him before nodding similarly vertically at him. He traced her movement to find her directing him toward what seemed to be a stable vine growing on the rocky but tidy wall; he couldn't help but watch her half-suspiciously.

Was she suggesting on breaking into the castle?

The cheeky little grin on Hylia's face told Link all he needed to know.

"You c-can't be serious..." Link attempted to laugh into the conversation half-nervously.

"Well if you're scared..."

Her sing-song tone to her voice as she whistled and placed her slender arms to rest behind her back complimented the odd smiling expression to her face as she spoke.

Something inside Link snapped.

Normally he was used to avoiding confrontation and all things relating to it but years and years of being pushed around by his childhood bully in the Kokiri Forest had finally began to wear thin with him.

Especially now that he was, little by little, gaining some form of confidence in his adventure since leaving his home.

Without another word, Link pushed past the wide-eyed Hylia and grappled the vine's thick surface with his superior left hand before very carefully affixing his right arm and right boot to it. Hylia, more than a little shocked by the little Kokiri's display of determination, blinked once at him before putting on a lightly annoyed frown. She opened her mouth to call on him as she ran to catch up.

"W-Wait for me!"

~

As the two children bent their heads and bodies down they pressed forward gradually and ever carefully; Link kept his eyes focused on whatever men he could find remaining stationed around Hyrule Castle's grounds. Shame, he thought.

The place looks very nice otherwise; would have been nice to freely explore.

"Looks as if they're all short-staffed with the tournament underway," Hylia analysed very quietly, her eyes similarly following Link's view. "This is our-"

"That's short-staffed?!" Link hissed out, shocked as he swivelled his head 'round in widened blue eyes. Hylia, though blinking at him initially, put on a light amused grin.

"Yeah, what's wrong? These forces scare you?" She challenged a second time, raising a playful blonde eyebrow at him. Her tone and grin made him re-assert his hardened frown as he re-faced the front.

"Hardly." He muttered back in response out of a need rather than anything else.

He couldn't help but stick to his concern however.

There was still a sizeable amount of soldiers stationed around the area.

How populated would it have been otherwise?

"Come on! Down here!"

Link snapped his widened blue orbs to his front; barely catching his partner-in-crime rushing for what seemed to be a ladder leading down to a stony chamber. Oddly granite wall lay before him in comparison to the soft and lush verdant green he walked upon earlier. Following her as briskly as he could without being obvious, Link kept his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on pursuing the youth below him. Eventually however, once he found his boots finding similarly robust ground as the surface above, he slowed his descent before finally setting both his feet down and turning 'round to face the front.

Link blinked in a mix of surprise and confusion when he found the area she led him to was a shockingly small chamber indeed; the two barely fit inside with their small frames together. A single sconce containing a ball of fire rested in the top left corner of the stone room, adequately lighting the chamber up for the pair. Finally a single wooden door, similar to many others Link had seen before, imposed over the two children. Link found himself questioning not only Hylia's decision making but his own in choosing to follow her.

"H-Hylia why are we-?"

"Sh!" The little blonde girl shushed him with an urgent raise of her left palm; the little Kokiri behind her raised another eyebrow in curiosity. "I'm listening."

"Listening...?" Link ruminated, her words bouncing off the sides of his mind as he scrunched a side of his face in watching her; the small Hylia bent down on her knees and pressed her left ear to the wooden door before them. He couldn't help but arch up his left cheek in wonder as he folded his arms and tilted his head down at her very lightly.

What was she doing?

"Okay!" She finally whispered out before reaching up and turning the doorknob very slowly and carefully pushing the door away from her. Though it creaked as expected Link kept his gaze fixed and unfazed; the little forest boy pressed forward to join her, lowering his body height to join her at her level.

What in the name of the Great Deku Tree was going on?

It was only when he noticed the large wagon pulled by a couple of mules in front of the the three that his cobalt eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and realisation. With the amount of charges stationed around the immediate area, Link soon grasped what Hylia's ill-conceived course of action was.

She was going to hitch a ride on the damn thing, he thought.

"Come on!" She finally hissed out as she suddenly pressed forward; in spite of the similar direction his thoughts went, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in consternation.

Oh this is going to suck, he thought to himself.

With barely a word he narrowed his eyes and kept himself as low as he could in his pursuit of the fleet-footed girl. Though he could hazily hear Navi's desperate whispering after him he kept his attention focused on following the nimble little Hylian girl; when he saw her very skilfully and quickly roll sideways across the ground to end up directly under the wagon, his oceanic eyes widened in a mixture of shock and awe.

When he saw her turn her blonde head to grin back at him and motion for him to come join her a worried spasm shot through his spine.

Oh for the love of the Deku Tree, he thought.

What happens if they see me?

His eyes darted in the soldiers' stations and, sure enough, they were seemingly busy in conversation with each other.

This was probably his best chance if he was going to do it. When he felt himself about to falter at the last minute, the challenging look in Hylia's eyes made him shoot back an annoyed look of his own.

With that thought driving him on, Link kept his body low as he dove forward in a deft sprint.

"L-Link! Wait!"

Navi's panicked hiss echoed behind him as she bounced into the air after him; soon realising she would be a dead giveaway, she turned her flight path low and hovered alongside him. His dread began to overflow and, when it got to a boiling point, the scampering little Kokiri grunted as he shot his body down to similarly revolve in a swift sidelong motion. Though dust remained where he moved, his breath caught in his throat when his eyes widened at the sight above him.

Wood of the wagon's exterior lay above to greet him.

He allowed himself to sigh in half-relief before soon realising Hylia's smarmy grin was on him. Out of instinct, he shot her back a fake confident grin of his own.

She's not going to win this silent competition, he thought to himself.

"Here, quick! Up here!" She suddenly called out as she wrapped her fingers and lower legs around the wooden cart's grips above them; Link's eyes widened but, unperturbed by her movement, soon imitated her actions. With a light grunt of effort, the youth found himself hanging from it; his eyes widened from their earlier narrowing in genuine surprise. So...

This was her plan.

When the horse-driven wooden cart began to move again, Link's eyes shot between his own position and Hylia's similar one; as he expected, she had her fingers and legs tightly wound 'round the wooden handles of the cart. When he caught the bright blue form of his companion Navi he set his breathing at ease and attempted to affix his limbs in such a way to relieve as much pressure as he could.

I may as well be comfortable for as long as this ride will be, he thought.

–

2

When the rocking finally stopped Link waited for the sounds of the cart driver leaving the wagon before finally opting to give his aching limbs a rest; he couldn't help but gasp in physical agony, using one hand to nurse the other's wrist with a visible wince. Hylia's cheeky little laugh at his left side made him double-take in her direction, half in annoyance and half in surprise.

"Sh!" She hushed him with a hiss and a joining of her index finger to her mouth, as if to emphasise.

She began to work on his nerves.

Strange; I don't even know this girl, he thought.

And yet there's something so familiar about her.

When the man dropping off what seemed to be the cargo of the cart finished, they felt and heard him plonk himself back in his driver's seat. Simply opting to lay still, Hylia and Link shut their similarly cerulean eyes together as they waited for the horse-driven cart to leave the drawbridge exit to Hyrule Castle's outside. It was only when the drawbridge itself however was soon ever-so-slowly raised back up, culminating in a loud clunk, did Hylia and Link re-open their eyes.

"Easy!"

Surprised by her confidence, Link sat up on his two arms, resting them behind himself as he stared over at the rambunctious blonde girl. He cocked a dirty straw eyebrow of his own as he watched her dust off her blue dress in a bold grin.

"I'm surprised you could keep up with me." She shot over her shoulder; Link couldn't help but grow a slow smirk of his own as he stared back at her.

She laughed.

"Come on!" She called, moving over to offer him a hand; though he took it, he put on a business-like frown. "Let's go!" The girl hissed out in her light grin; with both arms she pulled the little Kokiri with her roughly. He put on a light frown as he briefly hovered his blue eyes over the large bottles the man on the cart seemed to have left and found them familiar.

Bottles of Lon Lon Milk with the classic cow face symbol they sported so well.

Finding her striding toward what seemed to be a door of all things, Link's eyes narrowed.

Where was she headed?

When she let go of his hand to turn the doorknob, very slowly of course, her own sky-blue eyes narrowed as she carefully poked her head through the space between the door and the stone it lay in between.

"Come on!" She hissed a second time, her hand reaching for his; with a lightly annoyed frown he threaded his fingers through hers and allowed her to lead. When they stepped through the barrier Link's eyes darted 'round in examination; the first thing he found were two large and lush looking trees, medium in size it would seem. The splashing sound of a trickling small waterfall to the children's left echoed on, leading to what seemed to be an outlet for the stream of water – a small hole to be crawled through.

"Well... at least there's other ways in." He couldn't help but to think to himself with a tired smile on his complexion.

"Okay!" Hylia's light voice suddenly exclaimed between his thoughts, ripping him out of his ruminations as she so often did. "This is where we split up!"

"W-Wha-?" Link could only murmur out in response, blinking in his proverbial clueless manner.

"I hope you'll be all right without my guidance now!" The cheeky little blonde girl spoke as she shot him a similarly bold wink to match her confident smirk. Link couldn't help but stare back in light annoyance, as before. "I know it'll be tough without me... but you'll be fine!"

Folding his small arms at her defensively, he found himself tapping his boot at her, the ghost of a humorous grin on his hue. In watching, Hylia let out a spectating laugh before grinning back at him.

"Let's see if you can pass the obstacles! My cousin and I'll be waiting!" She added when she finished, a confident smirk on her face as she spoke.

~

"What did she mean by that?"

Navi's question seemed to come a while after Hylia had gave the pair her parting words; Link had to raise a curious eyebrow in response.

"What did she mean by what exactly?"

"What she said!" The bouncy little fairy exclaimed; when Link visibly winced and gave her a suggestive, annoyed look. Though Navi faltered a little she soldiered on regardless. "What do you think she meant by 'obstacles'?"

"I think we're about to find out..." Link chose to murmur in a hard-eyed frown as he approached the large and well kept hedge to his front. Using it as a wall to peek over he hung around its – and his – right side, pressing his back to it carefully. Very slowly and mindful of his presence, he narrowed his eyes and rose his eyebrows when he found what she was probably talking about.

A Hylian foot-soldier patrolled the grassy garden-like courtyard they resided in. A second single and rectangular hedge lay in the centre of the area he was patrolling.

So that's what she meant, he thought.

With a narrow of his eyes and keeping his body low, Link pressed forward. Pressing his back to the rectangular hedge he turned his head upward and to his far right past the next corner, only to find the Hylian soldier walk off quietly.

"Way's clear; go!"

Pressing forward in his rumination, similarly lowly and carefully he found a second long horizontal hedge before him; as before he placed his back against it stealthily and waited to listen.

There were the footsteps.

When he peeked slowly 'round the left corner, he found not one but two soldiers this time both patrolling what seemed to be lush fountains.

This really was Hyrule Castle, he thought to himself in awe. With a hardened frown however he reset his eyes to glare in concentration.

Okay... how best to approach this?

The first soldier began to pace calmly down the stone pathway, his head moving in left and right directions as if looking for something. The second man moved at a much brisker rate of movement; with some dust being kicked up by his boots, he ran circles 'round his partner.

It was thanks to that however that Link found a way forward; when the two soldiers' paths crossed in the middle of their fountains, the little Kokiri took it as a clear sign to move. Very quickly passing the pair, the youth and his guardian fairy shot through to the next area.

Finding what seemed to be a large platform littered with a leafy decoration above, Link's eyes narrowed at it. Craning his neck to his left he found a Hylian soldier stomping the grounds 'round the platform ahead. Narrowing his eyes forward, Link took some tentative steps toward the steps leading upward to the platform before him.

Watching down carefully he made sure to step very slowly and conscientiously across the small bridge-like wood that held the platform together. Scrunching his left eye shut in a display of concentration, he laid his arms to both his sides as he walked what seemed to feel like a tightrope of all things. Though he felt his position shaking every now and again, he finally made it; with a quiet grunt he short-hopped off the platform; with an athletic little roll forward he grunted a second time as his boots hit the soft grassy ground.

With wide-eyed surprise he gasped in sudden pain as he knocked himself into the large and long stone wall before him.

Wait a minute; a stone wall?

Turning his groaning head up he reconfirmed it.

I must be getting close, he thought.

As before, the youth pressed his back to the wall and peeked 'round carefully; a large and showy-like stone decoration lay in the centre of the area and, just as before, two soldiers patrolled 'round it. This time however, the two men took their sweet time in walking around it. When Link was finally given a chance to go through however he booked it as fast as he could without making any loud noises. As he passed the stone decoration, his eyes couldn't help but focus briefly on the three triangle adornment on the front of it.

Looked similar to what the Deku Tree was talking about, he thought.

With narrow-eyed determination the young Kokiri pressed on to what seemed to be the final obstacle; his eyes briefly scanned the initial long horizontal hedge that seemed to always be in front of him. Catching a couple extra hiding at the corners of the area he peeked around to find one huge rectangular hedge, more horizontal than vertical, circling the arena. His sky-blue eyes darted in the direction of two more Hylian soldiers and, this time, these two were both quick walkers. Link bit his thumbnail as he watched, looking for any kind of blind spot in the patrol they endured but it seemed to be fruitless.

"Link, just wait," Navi whispered in his ear, hanging on his right shoulder as she spoke quietly. "They walk so fast so, eventually they'll..."

Just as she said the words the soldiers almost seemed to read her mind and did as she was about to suggest; with brisk footsteps the pair of men found themselves in each other's line of sight.

There!

With a light grin on his face, Link nodded at his fairy once before taking off forward, his body held lowly. Hanging 'round the end of the centre bush, his eyes narrowed up at the pair of soldiers before him, his heartbeat thumping.

Please don't see me, he thought.

Seemingly answering his prayer the two soldiers merely continued on their route, leaving the briefly sighing Link to continue forward. Finding three long vertically well trimmed trees at the end of the wall ahead of him, his eyes were soon drawn to the stone footpath decorated to his left. When he followed it, he found it leading to a long chamber. A low grin shot across his unusually confident expression and he couldn't help but clench his left superior fist in a display of satisfaction before raising the rest of his body and scampering through the large tunnel.

–

3

When he finally emerged from the stone chamber, he scanned his oceanic eyes around in quick-search mode to find himself in what seemed to be a courtyard of all things. What seemed to be two rather large cube-shaped beds of flowers rested in either direction, leaving the rest of the surface in a healthy green grassy glow. Around the edges of the garden was one long but shallow trench of water laying all around. On each of the two walls at his sides were highly designed windows; some of which he'd never seen before.

This place must have cost a lot of Rupees to build, he thought.

"You made it!"

Link's eyes widened and they snapped back 'round to his front, his body half-leant to the side in his earlier examination. His nerves tensed up, readying himself for a fight of all things until he blinked at the sight before him.

A young girl walked toward him from the main attraction of the castle courtyard; a lavish stone podium with dual beds of flowers, even more luxurious than the ones in his line of sight. The blonde girl before him sported what seemed to be a headdress of all things, leaving only beautifully curled strands of her light blonde hair to frizzle downward. She wore a well-designed pink and white dress, complete with decorations around the waist and top-front. The same triangles he saw on the stone monument rested on the dress' lower end located just above what seemed to be a basic-drawn red bird of some kind.

I've seen all this before he thought.

When his eyes came to her face he couldn't help but widen his eyes at the familiarity; indeed, as she smirked over at him he got flashes of the blonde girl he had encountered in Hyrule Castletown, not mere hours ago.

Could it really be her?

"At least my instincts aren't wrong..." He thought in a half-defeated, mirthless grin.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself," the seemingly royally dressed youth smiled back at him before she shut her eyes briefly and went into what seemed to be an aristocratic bow. She lifted her dress very lightly with her two small fingers as she did. "I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule."

Though he remained quiet for a second or so, Link soon folded his small arms and sported a low grin on the left side of his face as he leant it in his response. "Nice to meet you...," he began before narrowing his eyes at her. "What happened to Hylia?"

"She...," the newly introduced princess began before soon growing a small smirk of her own on her face. "Had to leave...," the little noble shot back before continuing. "Not everyone are allowed into these chambers y'know."

"I'll bet."

Though they spoke in what seemed to be a fairly confrontational and condescending tone to the outward eye, such as Navi in her spectating, both Zelda and Link shared a strangely similar quality to their eyes as they communicated with one another.

It was just as real as when they spoke earlier.

Suddenly the pair of children couldn't help but pull back their heads and laugh together boisterously, seemingly almost out of no-where. Navi, taken aback, could only turn her eyes between the pair, entranced but unsure in her examination.


	8. History of Hyrule

Chapter 8: History of Hyrule  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.

\--

In leaving Lon Lon Ranch behind Link, Navi and Kaepora soon make their way to Hyrule Castletown and the bustling marketplace at its centre. Having been sent it alone, Navi and Link soon encounter a young girl giving claim to the name 'Hylia'; with her at their side she promises him a meeting with the royal family in exchange for his friendship. Faced with such a proposition Link can only accept in spite of his doubts.

While pressing forward, the two nimble children both hitch a ride on one of the wagons delivering milk from the very ranch that he left; infiltrating into the insides of Hyrule Castle, Hylia splits up for reasons unknown to the untrusting group. But trusting instead on his instincts, Link presses on regardless.

Successfully passing through all the obstacles laid before him in a sneaking-like stealth mission, Link manages to make his first steps onto royal Hyrule's holy-ground. While there, it is revealed that 'Hylia' was indeed Hyrule's princess all along in a childish cover act; she introduces herself as Princess Zelda and the Great Deku Tree's dying wish is finally realised.

With the meeting of these two, chosen by fate and by the holy Triforce, the gears and cogs of Hyrule are finally beginning to churn once more...

\--

Scene 1

"I knew you were from the forest... somehow," the newly introduced princess explained very briefly as she smiled back at the folded-armed Link; he couldn't help but raise a dirty-blonde eyebrow back at her, the ghost of his own grin on his face as he did. "Those green clothes, your weapons... they all remind me of my dream."

Her comments elicited a surprised blink out of him, breaking his earlier smirk into a curious frown.

"Would you... happen to have the Spiritual Stone of the forest you're from?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in her light smile. "That green and shining stone?"

Initially blinking at her in curiosity, his eyebrows rose in recognition and he nodded before going into his green tunic. Eventually he procured just what she was looking for.

The Kokiri's Emerald.

It gave off a similar dull and high-pitched hum as it spun magically in his left hand; he had to squint his blue eyes at it as he held it within his grip, its glow far too bright.

"I knew it!" The confident princess exclaimed, her grin re-adorned on her facial expression as she watched it circle his palm. Link couldn't help but grow a tiny smirk on his own face as she spoke.

Something about her was contagious.

"These dreams of mine... they've almost always come true."

"So... what's so important about this?" He asked, briefly eyeing the bright stone in his grip before re-facing her.

"It's part of a set of four keys to unlock the Door of Time and... the ultimate power," Zelda began, this time with a hardened frown. Her sky-blue eyes narrowed back at his as she finished her sentence. "The holy Triforce."

There was that word again, he thought, his own eyes narrowing in thought and remembrance to the Deku Tree's last words.

"So... you need this, don't you?" Link questioned, gesturing toward the Spiritual Stone in his possession.

"Well yes but-"

Without another word, Link gratefully strode forward and held the emerald forward; surprised, Zelda could barely get her own arms out to grasp the treasure, shocked. She watched him about-turn and make to leave the garden; with a smile on his face he raised his back-fist to seemingly wave goodbye to her.

"Was nice to meetcha!"

Before he could finish moving however, his eyes widened and his boots stopped their movement almost as soon as he saw his path was blocked. A rather tall, thin and surprisingly muscly woman barred his way, her armoured arms folded. Her silvery hair was tied into a single small ponytail, four strands of her fringe reaching down close to her crimson-fiery eyes. Under them seemed to be a strange kind of silvery eye-shadow similar to her hair colour resting just under her eyes.

Link's panic grew as he frowned in widened eyes up at the woman before him, as if being confronted by an enemy of some kind.

"Please... listen to what the princess has to say." The woman smiled briefly and surprisingly warmly down at him.

Though it was a simple request...

… it sounded more like a demand.

~

"And here I thought after I deliver the Spiritual Stone and the Deku Tree's message I could leave."

Well, Deku Nuts to that idea, Link thought in a disappointed frown.

The pair of children sat outside in the centre of the garden, parted between the two flowerbeds at their right and left sides. Link, in his ever lazy choice opted to sit in an almost bored-looking stance; with his legs all splayed out from diagonal side-to-side he laid his body back and placed his hands against the grass beneath him. A true reflection of the energy he felt.

Zelda instead however sat in the picture-perfect posture; with her lower legs laying in a diagonal stance, she was free to sit in any way she pleased. Using a single arm to rest on the soft grassy ground of her garden, she smiled before her guest as she used her free right hand to gesture as she began speaking.

"Well... you're not nearly as handsome as the man in my dream," Zelda started, alerting the blinking youth with her words; he sat up almost immediately when he registered her words, a playful smirk on them. "But you'll do." She finished this time in a knowing, chuckling grin.

Link merely glared back in a half-annoyance half-impatience, a comical deadpan frown on his face.

Zelda laughed – probably at his expense – before soon regaining her normal smile and resuming her explanation.

"In the dream dark storm clouds billowed over Hyrule itself... but, suddenly, a ray of light shot out from the forest, beat out the clouds and lit up the ground." The princess briefly elucidated. Link narrowed his eyes as he listened.

Was she talking about me?

"That light turned into a man grasping the Spiritual Stone of the forest; the Kokiri's Emerald," Zelda claimed, her earlier smile a frown as she spoke however, as her eyes very briefly caught the resting Navi on her guest's shoulder, her smile regrew on her expression. "And his guardian fairy of course; how could I forget?" She chuckled in her smile; Navi's blue light brightened a little as the noble spoke. "I knew that this must have meant a prophecy of some kind... when I saw you in castletown I just knew." She claimed, watching the frowning Link with her own eyes in a strange, examining kind of way.

Unsure of her intentions, Link could only stare back, scrunching up the left side of his face in an attempt to work her motivation out.

What was she getting at?

"Okay...," she began again, this time re-aligning her position to kneel forward and move closer to him; on instinct, the forest youth winced and pulled his legs back. "I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that's been passed down in my family for generations..."

–

2

"The divine Sainted Three hid the Triforce, the ultimate power, somewhere in Hyrule..."

In the vision Zelda was describing Link got to watch a similar scene to the one the Great Deku Tree described to him in his dying moments; just as she said a group of three women, golden in shade but different in aura colour, spiralled upward through a dark and raining sky.

"The Sainted Three gave the otherworldly power to this holy relic; the ability to grant any wish or desire to the person holding it."

Link's eyes widened as he listened.

I don't remember any of this, he thought.

Is this why they call it the 'ultimate power'?

"It is only said that if one with a righteous heart makes a desire... it will lead our country and the world to a golden age of prosperity."

Link listened intently, his brow furrowing.

Here it comes, he thought.

"But if someone with an evil mind has his or her way... the world, not just Hyrule, will be consumed by its negative energy and all will fall into despair and destruction."

According to who, Link ruminated to himself as he listened.

"These are the words of the Sorcerer of the Divine Divide; the last known contact of the Sainted Three."

There's that name again.

I know that name.

"And, so, the ancient Hyrulean sages built the Temple of Time to protect the holy Triforce from entering into the wrong hands," Zelda's words echoed on; as they did, the three golden goddesses shot up into the sky, leaving behind a trio of similarly golden coloured triangles.

They gave off a low hum and slowly rotated in the rainy sky. "The sacred triangle is said to be a godly force in that it balances only these three attributes; Power, Wisdom and Courage." She further explained, her words finally beginning to sink in to the listening forest youth.

Link readied to open his mouth to respond but held back for fear of missing out on what felt to be the most important part of the history lesson.

"Yes... if the heart of one whom obtains this sacred triangle has all three strengths in balance... that one will gain the True Force to govern all."

There's no way this can be true, he thought in half-disbelief.

"But if that one's heart is not in balance... the Triforce will separate into three parts; Power, Wisdom and Courage. Only one piece of the triangle will remain for that person; the part representing the force that one most believes in."

Makes sense, he continued in his mind as he listened on.

"If that one seeks ultimate power to rival the Sainted Three themselves... they must seek out the lost two pieces," Zelda claimed before finally finishing her exposition. "Those two elusive pieces will be held within others chosen by destiny and fate; those who will bear the the mark of the Sainted Three on the backs of their hands."

"... And the entrance to these pieces are through the Temple of Time." Hyrule's princess finished in her knelt, smiling state.

"I... see." Link finally opted to respond with, a notable blink on his expression as he listened.

"But that entrance is blocked by the Door of Time; a stone wall put there as a last resort to any unwanted invaders," Zelda further explained, a fresh frown re-adorning her face. "And to open this door one would need these four keys..."

Why is she telling me all of this, he thought.

I just want to go home.

"Three Spiritual Stones and a treasure known only to my clan...," she began before putting on a confident little grin. "The Ocarina of Time!" The blonde girl exclaimed in her grin.

Link couldn't help but grin back in spite of his need to leave.

"Ah! I almost forgot," the princess frowned out this time, her eyebrows raising in light surprise before her grin soon returned to her complexion. "I wanted to show you something; come here." Zelda chimed with her light grin, pulling him toward her with a pull of her index finger. Raising a curious eyebrow of his own, Link followed dutifully.

What does she want now?

His thoughts were soon answered however when she stepped around to the left side of what seemed to be a window of all things before them both. He double-took in her direction, as if to ask if this was what she was directing him to.

She nodded, a grin still on her features.

"All right...?" Link murmured out, unsure; he pressed forward, eyeing her carefully before returning his full attention to the window. Standing not far from it, he laid his hands across its stone exterior before narrowing his vision ahead past the paned glass before him. Inside seemed to be a well designed room indeed; marble stone complimented the luxurious rug that lay above it, decorating the floor with its lovely aqua blue colour. Two Hylian soldiers, seemingly dressed in more lavish gear than the normal ones Link had seen earlier, stood side-by-side. Though Link balked initially at spectating, worried the soldiers could see him watching, they didn't seem to react.

Huh, he thought.

Strange.

Just as his thought rounded up however, his eyes widened when he saw another sight; this one much more interesting. A large muscled and tall man began to stalk forward, his path seemingly headed for something in particular; reaching just short of the soldiers' paths and in between the pair, the tall man dropped himself very slowly to one knee, bowing his head and laying his beefy left arm across his lowered chest.

I know him, Link thought in growing panic.

Flashes of his recurring nightmare began to niggle at his mind and he experienced a terrible sense of déjà vu as he drank in the man's outward appearance.

Flaming but shortened red hair adorned the back of his head; leading down from that seemed to be a strange ornamental decoration attached to his forehead, a kind of yellow-shaded jewel. The dark-brown and even black armour he wore reminded Link of the vision the Great Deku Tree once told him in his dying moments. As if the green-shaded skin of the desert and muscled complexion didn't already tell enough; this had to be him.

This had to be the desert man the Deku Tree had warned him about.

–

3

"I am... honoured... to be in your presence, your highness."

With his deep words echoing throughout the lavish chamber, Ganondorf lowered himself into the respectful bow that he was taught to execute. His eyes shut as he raised his muscled left fist to hover over his similarly toned and armoured chest.

"Rise... oh king of the Gerudo."

With a satisfied grin hidden under his shut-eyed smile, the named king in question slowly rose to his strong-bodied feet and placed his arms to his sides as he took in the appearance of the man before him.

A stocky man by comparison, almost little to no muscle at all on his body however, that was not to say he was not an intimidating man by any means; the regal clothes he wore and the respect he seemed to command suggested otherwise. A relatively average-sized man, he wore a large white collar around his neck, decorated with a tailor's drawing of the holy Triforce on the front. On his body he sported a long crimson-fiery red coat that almost seemed to be too long for Hyrule's king. A simple blue but regal vest adorned his chest portion, complimenting the long brown belt and golden buckle he wore so well together. Simple white trousers rested upon his legs, going well with the basic but high class brown shoes he wore and, finally, the similarly silvery white hair and facial hair he wore lauded the rest of his complexion.

Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule.

In spite of the respect he showed him, Ganondorf's sociable smile belied the resentment he bore toward the stocky Hyrulean king.

He has no idea what's coming his way, he thought satisfyingly.

"It pleases this old man's heart to learn of your intentions in coming here today...," Daphnes began again, this time with a light-hearted smile upon his face. "After our country had just recovered from the horrors of that civil war..."

"A terrible occurrence," Ganondorf replied confidently but this time, with a hardened frown of his own as he shook his head at the man in his throne seat above. "I'm only glad that our new allies had survived the chaos."

"Indeed," Daphnes agreed with a warm but weak smile. "The more allies we have... the better."

"Most definitely," Ganondorf smiled back, executing a second bow in response, using his clenched left arm to hover over his chest as before. "Now... what say we get to business?"

"Ah, yes, of course; please forgive me," Hyrule's king chuckled in an apologetic smile of his own. "Now... as for your request... while we cannot spare as much as I'd like to... we can only give you and your people perhaps around four to five gallons of water and some rations to go with it."

A side of Ganondorf's now hard frowning face twitched in response; unspeakable anger shot through his body.

He had to do everything in his power to avoid lashing out at the older – and more politically powerful – man above him.

"Lord Ganondorf? Is that acceptable?" Daphnes asked, this time with a concerned frown adorned on his face. Realising his mask was slipping fast, the named Gerudo king reset the fake sociable smile on his own face.

"Y-Yes, of course; far much more than I expected, given the circumstances," he lied in his own chuckle. The concerned look on Daphnes' face soon vanished to replace the relieved smile on his own expression. "I am...," Ganondorf started again as he shut his eyes and went into a third bow, this time going down on one knee as he did earlier. "Honoured... your highness." He smiled lowly, belying the intense rage and hatred he bore toward the man before him.

"You are far too king, oh king of the Gerudo."

Before he could respond to the Hylian king however, Ganondorf's eyes double-took to his right when he caught a second pair of eyes watching him.

The two stared at one another, entranced.

Who was that?

Something about the hard, firm look in his sky-blue eyes reminded him of the dreams he was having of late.

I know you, he thought in his hardened growing scowl.

Somehow...

I hate you.

"Lord Ganondorf? Is... everything all right?"

The thieves' king widened his eyes, taken aback one final time; he chuckled good-naturedly and shook his head back at the man above.

"Everything is fine your highness. I thank you...," he began in response, bowing his head one last time. "For your great... generosity."

I will be thanking you for your crown next, he thought.

"Your highness..."

~

Link couldn't help but balk back from the window, his eyes narrowed as if being caught holding something he shouldn't have.

"What's wrong; did he see you?"

Zelda's words caused his mind to come crashing back to earth; his eyes widened and Link found his breath had quickened somewhat. Alongside his racing heart-rate and his strange sense of panic, Link suddenly realised why.

He reconfirmed it when the large man's yellow-eyed gaze mixed with his.

"Well, don't worry; I'm sure he doesn't know what we're planning," Zelda added, causing him to double-take in her direction, a curious dirty-blonde eyebrow raised upward in response. "Yet!" She finished, this time with a grin.

"We're?" He thought to himself as he watched her carefully.

What in the name of the Deku Tree was she expecting from me?

"His name is... Ganondorf," the princess finally began to explain, facing him this time with a frown. Link's eyes narrowed in his own frown as he listened. "He leads a separate faction from our province; they call them the Gerudo."

Finally with a face to a name, Link turned his head in the tall man's direction, his eyes narrowing and the rest of his body leant to the side. He watched the look in the man's eye and, somehow, he knew.

He knew it was a lie.

"Link? Are you all right?"

"Huh?" The Kokiri could only mutter out, blinking in surprise as he turned back to face his partner. Zelda stared back at him, an odd look on her face.

Oh, he thought.

I must look fairly engaged.

"S-Sorry." He apologised lightly, rubbing the back of his green-capped head as he chuckled.

Zelda grinned back at him, her humour returned. "Well, anyway...," she began again. "I've already told my father about my dreams... and about my suspicions," the country's princess briefly explained, this time with a light business-like frown. Link raised an eyebrow at her, as if to urge her to continue; she merely grinned and shook her head at him. "He doesn't believe me; because of course he doesn't." She chuckled half-hopelessly and even mirthlessly.

"You think he's after the Triforce... don't you." Link spoke, furrowing his brow back at her, his words and his tone more of a statement than a question.

"Yes...," Zelda smiled, releasing a light and seemingly tired sigh from her lips as she nodded in response to his words. "Link... I realise the gravity of the task I am about to ask you... but..." She began again, losing her smile in place of a sombre frown as she walked forward. The back of Link's neck began to tense up as he sensed the new tension within the air; she pressed on and, feeling bold, suddenly grabbed his right hand with both of hers. Link's own eyes narrowed back at her, suspicious and knowing.

Here it comes, he thought.

"We are the only ones left within this country that can save it!" She hissed, coming closer toward him. He felt her rub his right hand with her own very softly and narrowed his eyes back at her. She came within kissing distance to him and put on a sad expression to her face, a lost look in her eyes to match it. "Please..." She whispered to finalise her plea.

Link felt his eyes very slowly shut.

I don't want to do this, he thought.

My whole plan was to leave this in the royal family's hands and go back to my home.

Maybe once I get these other Spiritual Stones...

"I hate myself for this... but..."

His eyes, though briefly shut in his hardened frown, eventually re-opened to form the sociable smile on his face.

"Sure." He finally conceded, a sad and acknowledging smile on his face. Zelda didn't even wait to respond vocally; suddenly he gasped when he felt her crash into him with a surprisingly forceful hug; the little Kokiri gasped out for air as he stumbled back a step from the sudden drive she carried.

"Thank you!" She gasped in his right ear, resting her head 'round it as she wrapped her hands around his small frame.

With an initially surprised frown, Link realigned it to form a more serious expression; he slowly and softly placed his own hands to rest on her back, lowering his eyes and his head as he did. When she finally pulled away she took him by his small shoulders and stared firmly back at him.

"I shall protect the Ocarina of Time; he will not have it!" The princess rigidly declared, her eyes narrowing in a small show of determination. "I need you to get the other two Spiritual Stones; I am almost certain he has tried for them if he has gone for your emerald!"

Link nodded in quiet agreement; he vaguely remembered the words of his people's fallen deity.

'The man in black armour'.

"Ah! But where are my manners?" Zelda couldn't help but laugh after her initial surprised exclamation; raising her hands to her front she joined them together as she chuckled. "You must be starving after your journey."

"Wha-? No I'm-"

GROWL...

With red-faced embarrassment, Link's eyes snapped down to the source of the aggravating noise; his stomach.

It would appear his body disagreed with him.

With a superior grin on her face, Zelda began to walk off. "It's no trouble; really. Wait here!"

Lightly annoyed at her response with little to do about it, Link could only stand on the platform and do as instructed.

What have I got myself into, he thought in despair.


	9. Being Thrown (Into the Deep End)

Chapter 9: Being Thrown (Into the Deep End)  
Last Will of the Forest Spirit Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Who Are You" - Final Fantasy VII OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"A Searing Struggle" - YS III: The Oath in Felghana OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"The Second Malformation of G" - Resident Evil II OST. Scene 3 (First Half).

\--

In finally arriving to Hyrule Castletown and even infiltrating into Hyrule Castle itself, Link and Navi have finally achieved their week-long ambition of delivering the Great Deku Tree's message and fulfilling his last wish and will. In doing so however, the pair are introduced to their country's royalty, namely its princess; a young girl by the name of Zelda. Overflowing with knowledge of Hyrule and even the world's conception and history, she discloses this wisdom to the heroes in the hopes of gaining new allies to her cause.

Unfortunately for Link and Navi, their quest is not yet over.

She explains that while she had pre-conceived his arrival beforehand in a vision, Zelda makes an informal though, desperate plea for assistance; while no-one, not even her father believes in her visions, she senses something very off about a foreign Gerudo man, visiting from his sub-nation. Seemingly entertaining an audience with the king of Hyrule himself, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, Ganondorf, king of his Gerudo people, makes an allegiance with the country.

Acting on her suspicions, Zelda hides away her right to royalty; the Ocarina of Time itself from his grip. Though Link and Navi miss their lush home of the Kokiri Forest, he agrees regardless to assist his new companion in saving their country from the influence of their new adversary. It is with these parameters in mind however that Link himself does a little soul-searching...

\--

Scene 1

"She's using you."

Link gasped, his sky-blue eyes widening.

Who-?

"Wake up, Link."

Though his eyes were seemingly opened, he suspected his conscious was not; all around him seemed to be an endless abyss of darkness and ebony.

Am I asleep, he thought.

"You're more awake now than when you were earlier."

Who is that?

"Who...?" Link began, voicing his inward thoughts with a narrow-eyed frown as he stood up from his seat on the surface-less ground.

"Shin'ozo... Tomete Kureru."

Link's eyes widened a second time.

Those words again.

I know those words...

… but how?

"Violence... is who I am."

Link remained silent as he listened, turning his gaze skyward; though the voice, familiar and knowing, seemed to come from all ends he pointed his eyes upward regardless.

"I am the only reason that you live... little Link."

"That doesn't answer my question," the named Kokiri shot back shot back, his suspicions on this strange intruder growing. "Identify yourself!"

"I mean you no harm. Now settle down."

Very curious but altogether unconvinced, Link furrowed his brow as he unclenched his fingers from his fists.

"This girl... this princess... she is using you."

"You mean... Zelda...?" Link asked, raising an unsure eyebrow.

What is happening, he thought.

Am I dreaming?

"Yes... her ilk. She needs a pawn to gather those wretched stones."

The Spiritual Stones, Link thought.

He's been listening... and watching.

Whoever this is...

"Of course I've been listening. I reside here... little Link."

The Kokiri boy turned his frown up at the strange presence's voice; it sounded like...

… like his.

But how was that possible?

"I'm surprised you don't trust me, to be perfectly honest with you."

"Trust?!" Link couldn't help but laugh as he stood in the endless abyss, a mirthless grin on his face. "I can't even tell who you are!"

"Why, dear boy...," the voice began, its tone knocking off the walls of his subconscious. "I'm what destroyed Gohma."

That comment made Link's eyes widen in a gasp.

How-?

Suddenly he remembered half-way through the engagement he blacked out and Navi didn't seem to remember anything; how could she?

Apparently she had been incapacitated during most of the fight.

Dread within him grew.

"Yes...," the voice began again with a knowing chuckle. "While you and that useless guardian fairy of yours ran... I destroyed the threat Gohma posed to us both."

"So... you're what's...," Link began with a gulp, his eyes widened; a single bead of sweat dropped down from the side of his forehead as he listened, unsure on how to respond exactly. "A-And you... mean me no harm...?"

"Exactly."

One of the listening Kokiri's eyes scrunched up in scrutinisation. "But... why?"

"Well... it's simple; if you die... we both die."

Link could only blink; the answer was staring him straight in the face.

Would he... lie...?

It didn't seem like he was...

"Rest assured... I am telling you the truth," the presence reassured the listening boy. "I am here to help... and to offer my sage advice."

"Advice...?" Link merely parroted, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes...," the strange, divine-like being spoke, its words bouncing off the walls of his mind. "That Deku Tree and its princess may have informed you of the world's creation... and perhaps even of the holy Triforce...," it continued on; Link waited expectantly, as if for something mind-altering. "But they've both been hiding information from you still."

"W-What...?"

"I will leave you with this knowledge... do with it what you will."

"W-Wait!" Link suddenly called out, leaping a step forward as if it would help any in pursuing the fleeing voice. "I need to know more; I-!"

"Remember...," it began lowly before finally finishing its echoing sentence. "The only one you can truly trust... is me."

~

With a gasp, the youth startled himself, his body leaping upward. Though initially disorientated, his bearings soon slowly returned to him, as did his vision. Link found himself in a room that was lavish, to say the least; a large king-size bed lay all around his small frame, barely able to fill any sort of gap within it. The room itself was well-decorated with tapestries of numerous displays, including one at the top end of his room depicting what seemed to be the Triforce.

Three golden triangles, he thought as he narrowed his eyes on up at it.

Who would have known all this trouble would have started because of triangles?

It had already been at least two days since he had arrived in Hyrule Castle and had met with its princess. Since then, she had insisted he stayed.

Especially after he agreed to go find her other two remaining Spiritual Stones.

He sighed briefly out of his nose, shutting his eyes as he re-turned to face the similarly sleeping Navi on his left.

"I hope I'm not disturbing your rest." He called out quietly but sarcastically, frowning over at her in a comically annoyed frown.

Interrupting his thoughts however, the door to the guest room very quietly creaked open; he craned his neck in its direction, an eyebrow risen upward.

Who-?

When he saw the smiling Zelda poke her head through he realised it was no-one of consequence.

Suddenly however, upon seeing her face, he was reminded of the dream he just experienced.

"She's using you."

Those words stayed with him.

"How'd you sleep?" She greeted from half-way across the incredible distance of the long room. She shut the creaking oak door behind her before striding forward, her hands joined at her back.

"Um... well, thank you," he lied with a light smile. "What about yourself?"

She put on a light grin as she hovered toward his left side, leaning her hands into her chin as she rested her elbows on the soft quilt of his resting place.

"Pretty well," she responded before widening her grin a little; a sign of mischief in her sky-blue eyes. "Would have been a lot more fun if you just took my invitation instead though." She added, eyeing him carefully.

With a red-faced frown on his face, he naturally avoided her gaze, visibly embarrassed.

She laughed.

"Oh settle down," she chuckled in her satisfied grin before reaching forward with her right hand. Poking the dim blue light at his own left she raised a light blonde eyebrow. "Is that you Navi?"

"Yes... go away..." The little blue bulb of light groaned back; in a show of annoyance the little fairy hovered off into the long and deep quilt cover, her blue light diminishing. Link couldn't help but smile with the grinning Zelda as he watched.

"Impa sent me in to give you a message," the princess spoke suddenly, causing a blink in the boy; he turned his curious-faced eyes up to raise a similarly curious eyebrow up at her. "She wants to see you in the castle courtyard." She finished with a light smile, her hands still resting under her chin.

"Did-did she say what... for?" Link initially stammered out, unsure and wary.

"I never know what Impa wants! She just told me to tell you to bring your equipment with you," Zelda shot back, a strangely delighted grin on her pearly-white face. "You're best just going down and seeing her now; she gets mad real quick."

With a comical deadpan frown on his face Link sighed through his nose.

Oh joy, he thought.

–

2

"Ah... there you are."

Impa's sudden greeting made the youth gasp and about-turn in an unhealthy mixture of surprise and fear. When he realised it was her his nerves settled.

But just a little.

"I'm sorry; did I startle you?" The tall and intimidating woman chuckled good-naturedly down at him. Link forced a smile of his own as he turned the rest of his body around to face her, rubbing the back of his head.

His old habit.

"N-No, sorry; I guess I need to improve that side of me..." He laughed back nervously in response.

"Something we can agree on...," Impa grinned back in an approving nod, unfolding her arms down at him as she did so. "Now... let's get straight to it."

Link's smile dropped in favour of a stupefied frown.

She wasn't serious?

"Wha-?"

"I want you... to come at me with everything you have," the woman began as she narrowed her crimson eyes forward; a fiery sense of determination encapsulated them as she lowered her body. Link's nerves began to stand on end along with the hairs on the back of his neck attentively. "Use those weapons on your back if you must."

"Wha-?" Link repeated again but this time, a more fearful tone of voice as he took a wary step back. A single drop of sweat rolled down the side of his forehead as his shaky left hand went toward the hilt of his Kokiri Sword. "N-Now just h-hold on now!"

As she opened her mouth to give her final call, Impa started to move forward and with frightening speed.

"Come at me like your life depends on it!"

~

Link barely had the time to block Impa's rushing knee strike; her rock-hard skin struck his raised Deku Shield with surprising force, sending him grunting and skidding a few centimetres across the garden they fought in. Reaching for his strength, Link growled as he pushed his assaulter back with a simple forceful advance forward, Deku Shield first. Surprised, Impa back-dashed the way she initially came before suddenly leaping to her left side. The watching Kokiri widened his own oceanic eyes, catching the last of her before she soon disappeared from common view.

She was so fast he could barely follow her.

Scratch that.

He couldn't follow her.

As if reading his very horrified inward thoughts, Impa re-appeared toward his undefended rear and grunted as she slammed her left roundhouse into his back.

"Gugh...!"

Shutting one eye in the sudden influx of pain shooting through his body, Link was suddenly sent careering through the air, Deku Shield in hand. When he regained control of his senses however, he snapped his left eye back open before using his free left hand to grasp at the flowery ground beneath him. Though his fingers braved the rough drifting he was thrown on, he grunted once as he pushed himself up off the ground sending himself backward through the air. Landing on the castle stony wall behind him, he narrowed his sky-blue eyes at his zig-zag moving target before yelling as he pushed roughly off of it.

With the surprising force he exuded, stone bricks fell off in his wake behind him, as he landed however, Impa's eyes widened when she collided with the fast green blur. The pair were sent rolling intensely across the castle courtyard's garden, grass and dust following them in their wake. Finally they came to an about stop but only when the force of their movement caused the grunting Impa's head to ricochet off the ground once before finally slamming back down.

Struggling together in a two handed grip, the pair growled as they strove under each other's power. Unfortunately for the narrow-eyed Link however, the taller (and stronger) woman's strength proved too much for him and, as she pressed down firmly on his wrists to cause a yelp of pain from the youth, she finished her combo up with a sudden smash of her two legs into his chest.

"Argh...!"

Opening his mouth a second time as he sailed and twirling endlessly and vertically through the sky. Twisting her body horizontally to return to an upright position, Impa frowned as she crouched forward before soon snapping her eyes skyward after her opponent. Narrowing her vision she leapt upwards before suddenly disappearing in what seemed to be smoke. Snapping his eyes wide open from their berth, Link managed to catch the vanished and re-appeared Impa directly above him to his left side.

And he was defenceless.

With a deft forward flip, Impa grunted as she turned her body in time with Link's own falling one; with a slam into his face with her left fist she sent him careering back down to the ground with her. Pursuing him with intense speed, the quick Sheikah warrior spun one final time as she dropped alongside the small Kokiri raising her shadow-shaded boot to end squarely on his front chest; her final attack was timed perfectly to coincide with the pair's landing and, as they did, smoke rock and dust flew up all around them.

SLAM

Examining her handiwork, Impa couldn't help but wince in spite of her usually harsh but fair nature; she could barely see the fallen and unconscious form of the small boy beneath her.

"Perhaps I... was too zealous...," the Sheikah ventured as she frowned down at the destruction she had caused. Raising her leg from his fallen form she very slowly pulled herself up, folding her arms down at him. "Are you at least awake?"

When the smoke finally cleared she got a look at his face; eyes shut in a pained, open-mouthed frown.

He's unconscious, she thought.

She sighed and bent down, ready to pick him up and take him to the infirmary. Taking his small legs and body with her arms she made ready to stand back up.

She couldn't help but double-take in his direction however.

His eyes were suddenly wide open and a huge, similarly ample toothy smirk was on his face. His eyes, once a calm oceanic-blue were now a menacing fiery-red. Chilled to the bone, Impa could only watch him, half-mystified and half-confused.

What in the name of Goddess Hylia?

Surprising her again, the newly awakened Link shot his left hand forward and grasped the Sheikah by her neck. Impa's similarly red eyes widened and, left with no other recourse, she dropped the boy but it did little to dissuade him; he merely held onto her neck with his incredibly strong left arm.

"Rgh!"

With a single grunt, Impa sent her tougher right knee into his chest; with a low chuckle, Link used his Kokiri boots to bounce off her with an athletic and quick backflip. She followed him with her eyes, watching him carefully as she nursed her aching neck with her left hand, breathing a little harder from her exertion.

This wasn't Link, whoever this was, she thought.

As he stood in his half-leant closed-mouthed smirk, staring back at her with his eerie blood-red gaze Impa watched the ground very slowly and almost deliberately choke up in growing intensity from the sheer strength of Aegir this new boy possessed.

He has murder in his eyes, she thought.

"Shin'ozo...," he started to speak, his voice oddly deeper than before; he began to step forward and the grass wilted and burned with each slow stride he took. "Tomete Kureru..."

Impa's eyes narrowed attentively as she listened.

Words of the Sainted Three.

How did he know them?

Loosely translated...

'Violence... is who I am'.

Link's odd grin merely intensified when he made the final approach to the leaning-faced Impa; he broke out into a low run, his flaming eyes widening as he did so.

"MESSATSU!"

–

3

Though he attacked her initially with a head-on assault, Impa easily managed to block the first couple of lightning-fast rounds of punches and kicks he executed toward her front and lower portion of her body. Suddenly leaning her head and her torso to her right she avoided his wild forward dive-kick but, as he passed her, she grasped at his unused left leg successfully catching him. With an angered gasp, Link snapped his head 'round to glare at the Sheikah behind him, eyebrows rising up.

"You'll have to forgive me for this..." She spoke over very quietly and with a narrow-eyed glare to match his hate-filled glower; illustrating her words with action she yelled as she began to spin around in place, his leg under her grasp. The pair elongated their wild screams as they rotated endlessly around the garden, their forms a mere blur; finally, the Sheikah warrior let go of her opponent, sending him rocketing toward the stone wall behind her.

CRASH

Impa huffed as she recovered from her action before soon gasping in sudden realisation of pain; she nursed her right hand with her left, finding it burned somehow.

Was it his mere Aegir that did this?

That's incredible for a boy of his age.

"This power...," she began as she stared forward, eyes narrowed at the wreckage she caused. Though granite stones from the wall she threw him into dropped one after the other into the moat below, she had no doubt he survived. "Is not natural..."

As if to answer her quietened words, one of the many large fallen bricks suddenly shot toward her; her eyes widened as she shot her body to the side in evasion. Once another came flying her way, the swift Sheikah dashed to her right, skidding across the grassy ground she stood on. Watching for any more flying stones, Impa furrowed her brow in confusion when she found no more.

Where was he?

She double-took to her right when she found the young green-clothed boy standing at the window Zelda would normally languish at. With a single right arm raised skyward and his head with it, an ominous fiery-aura of what seemed to be Aegir itself encircled his body tyrannously. Impa's nerves grew cold and her similarly red eyes widened in horror when she realised his intent.

Oh no, she thought.

He turned his blonde-haired head down to grin madly down at her, his body shaking with the intense strength his twitching left palm seemed to command.

"Time to die!" Link called out, his voice taking on a strangely demonic tone to it; with widened flaming eyes and a new hateful scowl attached to his face he yanked his right arm backward, as if a ball or stone or some kind of projectile hiding inside of it.

"He's going to blow me to smithereens!"

"Sekia! KURETSUHA!"

BOOM-DROOM

Utilising every single ounce of Aegir and strength within her body as physically possible, Impa gasped as she vanished forward in an attempt to avoid the incredible range of the fiery-explosion technique her opponent used. The ground she once stood on – and indeed any ground outside of the platform he stood on – was suddenly lit up in an intense explosion. Impa could barely breathe from the sheer effort she exuded in moving; sticking to the stone wall to her right, though she was burned from the strength of his Aegir, she attempted to catch her breath as she stuck to the wall athletically.

Unfortunately however she was not to be afforded any kind of luxury.

Widening her eyes she snapped them 'round to catch the wide-grinning Link leaping at her.

Did he intend to do this, she thought.

Eliminate any surface to stand on and then pursue when the opponent inevitably runs.

It was effective.

Simple... crude even... but effective.

"HNH!"

With a growling low demonic grunt, Link slammed his left fist directly into the Sheikah's face; Impa gasped, a surge of pain shooting through her body, face first as she was sent flying back down to the moat of water beneath her.

SPLASH-SLAM

The scale appeared to be tipping in her opponent's favour and, as she landed, Impa growled in pain, blood trickling down the side of her face. Though she attempted to move, it would appear either her opponent's strength had knocked her near unmoveable or it was his Aegir that burned her.

Goddess only knows, she thought.

She heard him splash down to meet her half-way across and her eyes snapped down in a gasp to watch him very slowly approach her, a hungry and toothy smirk on his face.

"Satsui-najkara...," he began lowly, re-raising up his twitching left bulging fist to clench as he did. "Shioma-tometeru!"

'The power of this surge... calls out for blood'.

Impa narrowed her eyes at the slow-approaching form of her enemy, panic very lightly niggling at the back end of her consciousness. Somehow, the Aegir in the boy's arm wasn't just powerful enough to injure her but it had a special kind of quality to it; something inside of it seemed to nullify her nerves to move.

She hoped to Goddess Hylia it was only temporary.

As the grinning-faced Link made his final approach, he lifted up his left arm and gripped at the hilt of the Kokiri Sword hanging on the sheath resting on his back.

SHHHING

The blade, though small in size, was by no means a joke; sharp and strong in its sheen, the possessed Link spun it expertly 'round his fingers as he raised it up. Impa's panic began to grow and her eyes widened as she watched him.

Come on, body!

Respond already!

With a final battle cry Link laughed maniacally as he abruptly dropped his weapon in a downward stab attack, both hands on the hilt.

"Now!"

With wide-eyed panic and energy, Impa's arms shot forward like an arrow shot from a bow and with impressive agility and dexterity, managed to catch the Kokiri Sword mid-swing between her two palms. Link's own demonic eyes widened and he lost his open-mouthed smirk, giving way to an angry glare as he pushed down with all of his might. The pair were soon engaged in a vicious, growling struggle together and, for all she was worth, Impa dared not allow him any lee-way.

Whatever was inside this boy wasn't natural.

He was going to kill her if she let him.

"Hngh...!" The Sheikah warrior grunted out as she unexpectedly managed to abruptly toss the blade off clanging into the watery moat next to them. Link gasped as he stumbled forward and, putting on a hardened frown, it was all Impa needed; she grasped the boy by the scruff of his tunic's neck before grunting with effort as she expertly tossed him over her front. With an angered yell, the demonically possessed Kokiri flew over her wordlessly as she followed her action up with a recovering back-flip. Landing on the stone wall behind her, her eyes instinctively snapped 'round to glare at her similarly recovered opponent. Wasting no time she pushed forward off of the wall to vault herself back to the once lush garden, now burned black from the earlier attack.

Pursuing her, as expected, the glowering Link advanced into her with a clashing elbow; Impa initially blocked the anticipated attack before replying with an attempted gut shot via her free right fist. Unfortunately for her however, the youth caught her arm with both of his own before chuckling lowly and suggestively; Impa's eyes widened in growing panic once more.

"No-don't!"

CRACK

With a pained scream renting through the air, Impa and Link both skid across the ground; she dropped to her knees as their movement finally stopped. Intense pain shot through her right arm as she watched him smash his knee into it, knocking it out of place. Laughing further, Link smashed his backhand across her face, sending the Sheikah twirling and sprawling to the blackened ground beneath them. She widened her eyes back open as she used her one useable left arm push up off the ground; she yelled in effort as she drew her similarly left leg across her enemy's face in a savage roundhouse kick.

"Gurgh!"

With similarly widened eyes, the youth was sent spiralling through the air, crashing into the stone wall all around them. Impa gasped in further effort as she tossed forward a Sheikah knife with a paper explosive attached on the end; easily making her mark she narrowed her eyes as she watched and waited.

DROOM

Impa didn't even wait however to watch the aftermath; getting herself to her feet she grunted endlessly as she painfully went through the time-adjusted procedure to heal her arm.

CRACK

"Agh...!" The tall woman inhaled sharply, one eye shut as she used her less damaged arm to wipe at the trickle of blood on the side of her face. Impa's eyes backlashed however when she caught movement on the ground alongside small rumbles underneath her feet.

He was in the earth beneath her somehow.

Her fears were confirmed when she saw that movement bolt for her current position; what seemed to be mere mounds in the ground grew rapidly in size as they approached. With surprising athleticism, Impa grunted as she continually somersaulted backward in an attempt to avoid the obvious but lightning-fast assault. She kept the same pace as her attacker and narrowed her eyes at it.

If this was the obvious attempt... then where-?

As if playing on her very anxiety, she felt his terrifying presence of Aegir directly behind her; her eyes widened as she stopped moving, darting to the side in horror as she waited for the inevitable strike.

"Metsu!"

'Destruction'.

She grunted in pain as she felt him slam his boot into her back, sending her flying forward to meet the obstacle in the ground that chased her relentlessly.

How did he do that?

Was that thing in the ground a mere decoy?

As if to answer her however, as her body flew over the mound of scorched earth, her eyes widened as the unnatural mound in the earth finally flashed bright-white and exploded.

DROOM

"Burn..." The ominously grinning Link watched from the north-west edge of the already scorched garden; a huge mound of Aegir, previously sent through the ground, detonated gratifyingly, soaking the air up in an enormous show of fireworks. When the explosion passed and the smoke began to clear however, the bloody and bruised Kokiri started to stride slowly forward, as if to confirm the kill. When the dust finally settled and the possessed blonde got a look at his work his grin fell flat.

A single stone brick lay on the ground where the Sheikah's corpse should have been.

A simple substitution technique.

SLAM

"Hurngh...!"

The angered growl escaped Link's consumed lips as he was assaulted and taken off guard by the re-appeared Impa's forward dive-kick. The force of the attack sent him veering and roughly skidding across the blackened ground; Impa pursued him with a graceful and deft somersault forward. Reaching for one of her knives she narrowed her eyes as she began to plummet down in a quick and silent plunging attack. Link's fiery eyes snapped skyward in following, glaring as he put the rest of his energy into raising his already billowing aura of Aegir; a veritable shield in and of itself. He shot his deceptively skinny arms in a defensive cross and waited, his eyes widening as she rapidly approached him.

CRASH

Impa grit her teeth and bore the agony that her muscles screamed at her as she billowed her own Aegir cloak with her enemy's fiery-red one. Her shadowy purple aura intensified as she began a low to loud battle cry, her eyes similarly widening as she did. The growling Link beneath her widened his own eyes similarly yet, seemingly, of fear. Her reserves of Aegir outstripped his and, as her voice reached a high octave, the consumed boy beneath her began to scream in an unhealthy mixture of desperation and distress.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

DROOM

As Impa's shadowy Aegir aura soon overtook the screaming Link's, an explosion of effort around the pair exuded between them; meaty in size and fearsome in strength, it ate through a good chunk of the already blackened garden. Impa gasped through the smoke as she reached down to kick hunks of stone and earth off of the fallen Link; their fierce battle had finally reached its climax. With every bone in her body aching and every drop of Aegir spent, she reached down and grasped the growling blonde by his tunic, lifting him up.

It doesn't seem as if he's returning to normal, she thought.

I have to end him.

"I'm sorry kid...," the Sheikah murmured out as she stared back into the hateful gaze she was gifted with. She raised her knife up with her left arm, readying to end the engagement. "But you're far too dangerous to be left alive."

"No! Stop!"

~

Widening her eyes, Impa snapped her head 'round to her right only to be surprised a third time.

The frowning princess Zelda and the blue ball of light that was Link's guardian fairy resided in the far-off corridor before her.

Just what I need, she thought.

When the growling possessed Link attempted to raise his arms up in lieu of attacking his captor they soon dropped, falling short of physical and spiritual energy. However, as Navi soon approached, her sky-blue light dancing across the air she flew upon, his fiery-red eyes became fixed on her.

"Link!" She called desperately, flying forward to his presumable aid.

A kind of tense and unsure period of silence descended down upon the group of four; Impa found herself perplexed by the boy's sudden change. As he stared back at the flying blue light that was Navi his demonic eyes began to settle slowly back into their normal similar sky-blue.

What's going on, Impa thought.

As Zelda made the final approach toward them, Link made one last grunt of effort before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he presumably fell unconscious. Lowering her knife, Impa's brow furrowed at him.

What caused the change?

And why?

"I think it would be best... if we keep this to ourselves," Zelda spoke up, pulling the curious Sheikah's attention toward her. "I have much to tell you both."

Impa couldn't help but exchange a similarly confused look with the floating Navi before returning Zelda's studious gaze with her own frowning one. She opened her mouth to respond, acerbic in tone and nature.

"Please do princess."


	10. Discovery & Study

Chapter 10: Discovery & Study  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Puzzling Truth" - Fire Emblem IX: Path of Radiance OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"No Answer" - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).

–-

In a disturbing turn of events while staying inside Hyrule Castle as personal guests of their new companion, princess Zelda, Link goes through his most troubling endeavour yet; through a request of Zelda's confidant and bodyguard Impa, he is pulled into a fight to the death in the guise of simple training. Though with noble intentions to assist in toughening up the boy, Impa's actions in pushing the poor Kokiri to his limits awaken the second side to himself; a side he has kept locked away and managed to remain ignorant since his battle with Queen Gohma...

… Until now.

Having met this nameless second side of himself; a mirror of himself in appearance only, Link's mistrust and uncertainness can only grow as he is told misgivings of his new companion Zelda and even of his old mentor, the Great Deku Tree. Promising him that he can only trust it, this nameless twin of Link possesses powers far beyond even that of men double his age. Seemingly even able to speak the forgotten tongue of the three Golden Goddesses, Impa and Link can only speculate on this mysterious and even malevolent presence's form of origin.

On top of the already growing issue of the Gerudo king Ganondorf, Zelda manages to plug a hole in this mess with the assistance of her trusty bodyguard. Though she opts to inform her confidant, as always...

… she fails to relay the information to both Link and Navi.

–-

Scene 1

"... feeds off hatred."

"Yes..."

Link couldn't help but groan.

Voices in the background as he stirred.

"Sh! He's waking!"

Who's voice was that, he thought.

In spite of his inward questions however, the youth found his head pounding worse than ever before; a headache that threatened to split his very mental fortitude.

"Argh..." He managed out, his throat feeling scratchy and dry. His vision soon began to stabilise and, as it did, his hearing soon followed. As before, Link awoke to find himself in the lavish and large guest room he did the morning before. When the standing form of Impa, folded armed and leaning against the wall close-by and Zelda's kneeling forms became clear to him, he turned to face them, blinking his oceanic eyes at the pair.

"You're awake...," the smiling princess greeted as she placed her hands to rest under her chin, leaning on the bed's quilt cover that he lay in. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a horse run me over...," Link groaned out truthfully, nursing his aching head. "What happened?" He asked, scrunching his eyes shut as he lowered his right hand to grasp the skin between his eyebrows in a display of his agony.

"Don't you remember?" She asked, cocking a lighter blonde eyebrow upward in her grin. "You and Impa really went at it."

His eyes widened almost in immediate response; his memory went straight back to the engagement he was in with the Sheikah warrior. Link very slowly hovered his eyes 'round to stare back at the frowning and folded-armed Impa, almost as if guilty of something.

"Do you remember any of it?" The tall woman questioned, raising a silvery eyebrow upward as she postulated her request.

"N-No," he answered honestly, blinking back up at her. "I-I mean... nothing after a certain point..."

"When I knocked you out yes?"

He nodded.

As if almost sensing her social cue Zelda turned her eyes to meet with Impa's and, with a simple mutual nod between the pair, she turned back 'round to face the curious Kokiri.

"I'll leave you and Impa alone; she has some things she wants to discuss with you," the princess smiled as she got up to feet and dusted herself off. As she walked off toward the expensively designed oak door to the exit she turned back to face them only for a few seconds in her smile. "Don't take too long now!" The blonde grinned impishly over her shoulder before finally shutting the door behind her with an audible click.

Unbound by her superior's words, the frowning Impa pulled herself up from the wall she leant off of, similarly unfolding her arms as she approached the boy. Uttering not a single word, the Sheikah eerily dragged a chair noisily across the floor; Link couldn't help but grimace as he felt the sound assault his sensitive ears. She finally eased herself into the seat, crossing her well-toned legs together as she re-folded her arms; seemingly a habit of comfort.

"Okay... Link...," the Sheikah started as she leant her silvery-haired head lightly to the side, narrowing her eyes at the clueless boy before her. "Let's talk."

~

"Has this happened to you before?"

Her initial question threw him off; Link blinked back at her cluelessly.

"Blacking out," the Sheikah clarified with a lightly annoyed tut as she leant her head forward, eyes narrowing curiously. "Has it?"

"Oh!" The Kokiri gasped, realising her intention. "U-Um... well... yes... but only once."

"When was that?"

The memory was always very unsettling to him; having a full fighting engagement just blocked off from his recollection was just disturbing, even with the new revelation revealed from his other side.

But he soldiered on regardless.

"To earn my people's Spiritual Stone... Navi and I had to fight a monster deep inside the Great Deku Tree," he began to explain, lowering his oceanic eyes as he gripped at the quilt covers in his hands. "Half-way through the fight... something... snapped," he said, shaking his blonde-haired head as he frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know what... but when I came to, I saw Navi and we were safe."

"Does Navi remember any of this?"

Her probing made him re-raise his head back up before blinking again, soon realising the answer to it.

"N-No... she was... she was out too." He answered in a saddened frown.

"I see...," Impa sighed out her nose as she frowned lowly temporarily before re-facing the front. "Well... it would appear that she has already seen this form change of yours."

Link's eyes widened, this time in surprise.

But how?

"In the end of our duel... both the princess and your guardian fairy managed to interrupt it," Impa spoke, as if reading his very thoughts. He raised a curious dirty-blonde eyebrow upward as he listened. "They already both know."

Panic began to grow within the little boy; he stared with his wide-eyed frown, unable to come up with a response in time.

"Don't worry; I've been able to settle their nerves," the Sheikah chuckled, unusually cheerfully. "Now I just need to settle yours."

Her words managed to somehow set the small Kokiri at ease; he nodded back in reply, a light but forced smile upon his face.

"I came very close to killing you," she confessed softly as she frowned firmly forward. Link couldn't help but wince as he listened. "That strength of yours... you just wouldn't stop."

"I wish I had the answers for you but I...," he began before re-raising his eyebrows in remembrance. "N-No wait, I-"

Impa watched him curiously, awaiting his answer.

"I remember... a dream...," he began, shaking his head as he brought up his legs within the quilt he lay in. His arms instinctively went around his raised legs as he narrowed his eyes downward in thought. "I think I... talked to it."

"You what?"

His words seemed to surprise and shock his former opponent; he turned 'round to face her, sheepish and all. She stared back at him, leaning forward in her chair as she listened attentively.

"Y-Yeah," he confirmed in a similarly nervous wan smile. "I thought I was going crazy or it was just a wild dream but... it talked back to me."

"What did it say to you?"

Should I tell her, he thought.

I don't know...

"Um...," he began unsurely, temporarily lowering his eyes as he opened his mouth to continue. "Lots of things... but nothing concrete."

"What do you mean?"

"No evidence," he answered, this time in an unusually sociable chuckle, rubbing the back of his messy blonde head. "It... told me that it was the only person I could trust."

Impa stared at him for a second or two, as if either assimilating the information she was just given or watching him for signs of lying. Seemingly satisfied, the intensive Sheikah stood up from her chair and overlooked him from the main front the bed faced.

"That thing inside you...," she began, folding her arms as she stared down at him. "It has untold, perhaps even divine power..."

Link's brow furrowed at the use of her words, very curious.

"But it is no true answer," she further stated, frowning firmly as she shook her head slowly down at him. "Not unless you feel you can harness it."

Does she mean control it?

I doubt it, he thought.

I can barely remember when all this is happening.

Sensing his silence as an answer in an of itself, she nodded.

"Then it's settled," Impa commenced as she raised her head up to frown further down at him. "I will teach you all I know on Aegir and harnessing it."

–

2

"I believe you already know of the conception of the world and of Hyrule, yes?"

Impa's prodding made him turn his head up from his seat in the classroom he resided in; an open book lay before him, large in size.

He nodded, his memories briefly picking out the stories he was told by Zelda earlier and the Great Deku Tree.

Impa stood at the end of the room, her back facing the blackboard behind her. She folded her arms in a similar gesture as she always did, frowning forward at the youth in the seat before her.

"Good... then you know of Aegir, don't you?" She asked, leaning her head lightly as she began to pace around the empty classroom. Link nodded a second time.

"Y-Yes but... I only know the name," he responded in a sheepish chuckle, briefly shutting his eyes in his nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head; an old habit. "I know it was mentioned a few times whenever these stories came up."

"Aegir is all around us," Impa began, frowning forward at her new student. "You can feel it when you walk the plains of Hyrule Field... when you speak to your friends... and especially when you fight," she claimed, narrowing her eyes as if to emphasise her words. "It is the very building blocks that make up life itself, gifted to us by the Sainted Three."

The Sainted Three, Link thought, parroting the word in his mind as he listened.

Those are the goddesses he was told so much about.

"There are all kinds of names for Aegir... though the creators of our lifeblood are said to have come from this country, other places have other names for it," the Sheikah explained briefly as she paced forward gradually. "Quintessence, Aether... even Magic; they all correlate to our power and life of Aegir."

"S-So... everyone has this Aegir thing?" Link asked vaguely, blinking forward as he rose his hand into the air. Impa nodded in confirmation.

"Correct," she said in her admission, leaning forward to place her left armoured hand over the desk he sat on. She overlooked him with a narrow-eyed frown. "Without Aegir... life would cease to exist."

Link couldn't help but gulp down a load of saliva that had gathered around in his throat before nodding back at her, almost in what felt like obligation. Seemingly satisfied with his response, Impa took her hand up off the desk before about-turning and continuing her folded-armed pace around the room.

"The level of Aegir that one can carry varies in large margins between each individual," the Sheikah woman explained very briefly, marching 'round the horizontal desk presumably used for the lecturer of the classroom. "Generally those with fighting ability... have the largest amount and most potent Quintessence." She finished as she stopped half-way, her body facing the left wall of the classroom, her head turned 'round to eye the curious and listening boy. Comically, he raised his hand and the Sheikah warrior raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"So... you know how much Aegir I have?" Link ventured to inquire, frowning as he lowered his hand in response.

"I'd say I have a good idea," she shot back with a confident and unusually mischievous grin on her face. Link smiled lightly as he watched. "Like I say... the amount you possess in that other form of yours is an untold amount; maybe near bottomless and the potency is incredible, but...," she began as she turned her body 'round to face him fully, a leaning and disapproving frown on her face. "To rely on it... is madness."

Link nodded, his sincere frown returning to him.

There's very little chance I can control that side of me, he thought.

She is right.

"Aegir management is key in battle," she continued on, re-beginning her pace around the horizontal desk before her. "If you use too much... you will collapse. It is, after all, our lifeblood. Your enemy will know this and will pressure you as much as they can in order to achieve this." Impa explained very briefly, facing him with a light frown.

Makes sense, Link thought to himself as he listened.

Suddenly I feel very stupid having to be explained all this, he continued on silently as he couldn't help but to avert his blue eyes from her red, sheepish and awkward in his red-faced embarrassment.

"Spacing your enemy and countering them physically will mean nothing if you overuse your energy and Quintessence in doing it," the Sheikah wisely stated as she finally 'rounded her pacing to walk around the horizontal desk. "It's very easy to fall into this trap."

He nodded in understanding.

Not the first time I've did something like that, he thought.

His mind almost immediately went back to the horror of fighting the endless Stalchildren horde on Hyrule Field.

"Now...," Impa re-started as she stopped her advance very briefly to lean her body to the side. She folded her arms as always and put on a light grin as she spoke. "Before you leave this place... I'm going to teach you everything I know on how to harness your Aegir."

Though Link blinked once he couldn't help but smile sheepishly in response, unsure on what to expect.

~

"You've been a brave lad these past few days young Link..."

Surprised, the youth turned his blonde-haired head to his left to find his mentor standing proud and tall as ever. With her Sheikah magic and tricks she had managed to escort the pair out of Hyrule Castle and even the town itself with no consequence.

As always, he was impressed by her knowledge and strength.

"We must protect this sacred land of Hyrule...," the Sheikah stated fondly, her arms folded as she stared out at the vast Hyrule Field before the pair; Link traced her stare with his own frown, nodding in silent agreement. "Take a good look over there... at the mountain!" She started, nodding her head upward in her own frown; the listening Kokiri raised a curious eyebrow before watching and, sure enough, there it was.

A huge mountainous region with a visible white smoke circled the very mountain she was referring to.

It looked intimidating to say the least.

"That is Death Mountain, just as I informed you," Impa began as she raised her right hand from its folded position to rest her elbow on her left palm. "It is said the mountainous people there, the Gorons, hold the Spiritual Stone of Fire." She explained very briefly in her examining frown.

Narrowing his eyes toward it Link began to take six steps forward, small in number and short in distance.

"At the foot of Death Mountain, you will find Kakariko Village; an old home of mine, where I was raised," the Sheikah gave claim to; Link couldn't help but briefly turn his eyebrow-raised curiosity over to face her as she elucidated her words. "You should speak to the villagers there before you head up the mountain."

He nodded briefly in his light smile. "I will."

"Remember now," the Sheikah began again, turning her crimson eye down to frown at him seriously. "That song I taught you on your instrument has the power to prove your connection to the royal family," she explained as she frowned down at him. Her look soon turned firmer however (if that were even possible) and she continued on. "It will also help when you need assistance in controlling that presence of yours..." She finished, her words thought-provoking. Even the floating Navi seemed to know exactly what the Sheikah was referring to; Link knew all too well.

He couldn't help but shudder when he thought of that foreboding murderous intent that lay within him.

"Now, remember Link," Impa re-started as she turned the intensity of her frown down at him. "All that voice wants is control; don't give it any strength," the Sheikah stated as she shook her head, as if to emphasise her words. "Navi... you know what to do when and if he loses control, yes?"

The little guardian fairy nodded in mid-air, her blue light ever bouncy.

"Good...," Impa smiled rarely, nodding similarly before reaching for something in her clothing. "Hyrule's princess will be waiting for you; those stones are all the hope that we have!" She exclaimed as she rose up a shining object in her left hand, eyes narrowed. "All right; we're both counting on you! Good luck!"

Without another word, the frowning Sheikah shot the object down on the grassy field they both stood on; Link gasped as the inevitable movement made him flinch.

FLASH

With a light grunt, the stunned Kokiri brought down his skinny arms as the burst of light that accompanied the Deku Nut began to dissipate. His determination set, he about-turned and stared firmly over at the far-off region of Death Mountain, his body leant to the side.

–

3

"Are you certain it was wise to let him leave without at least telling him of that thing inside of him?"

"Impa please," Zelda shot back over her shoulder as she bent down in her royal dress to pick up what seemed to be books. Her Sheikah guardian stood looming at the door to the library, her arms folded and frowning as she always did. "I feel bad enough about sending him out there by himself..." The princess muttered as she grabbed what she could and placed it under her arms. Impa frowned in a half-disapproving sense, watching her superior pace around the room before finally ending up at a small desk where she smacked down a large tome.

Prying it open she narrowed her blue eyes as she scanned them across each page that passed her by, seemingly searching for something.

"I doubt he blames you for any of it...," Impa responded finally as she unfolded her arms and leant off the wall to walk over and join her. "He was fairly responsive to the training."

"That hardly assuages my guilt Impa..." Zelda uttered over her shoulder, a saddened look in her eye as she did. When she returned her attention to the tome beneath her however, her eyes soon widened and she gasped to match her surprise.

"What is it?" The curious Sheikah questioned, leaning her silvery head over the princess'. On the tome seemed to be illustrations marked with Hylian writing. Her crimson eyes narrowed down at it.

Though it was a drawing of the divine Triforce, it was depicted in a strangely unholy way; darkness was drawn around it instead of the gold they had once thought enveloped its stature.

"It's just as we feared...," Zelda muttered, her eyes widening as she read from the passages depicted below. "They call it the 'Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai'."

Those are words of the Sainted Three, Impa thought.

"Shinzui... Sanmiitai...," the Sheikah parroted, narrowing her eyes as she did. "'Essence of the Triforce'...?"

Zelda nodded, a grave frown adopted on her young features. "Exactly," she began in response before about-turning her body to face her bodyguard and attendant. "If he's not already chosen by it... then he at least contains Aegir pertaining to the Triforce."

Impa's eyes widened in a mixture of realisation and surprise.

"Of course...," she began in response before turning her head lightly in curiosity. "But then that doesn't explain how-?"

"It is said that the Triforce knows no relation between good and evil and, indeed, the Aegir itself can very easily be seen as chaotic...," the princess explained, briefly reading and facing the open tome next to her. She turned once more to face Impa in a hardened narrow-eyed frown. "Or even pure evil."

"Sweet mother of Nayru..." Impa could only mouth out, a chill running down the Sheikah's back.

I was lucky to walk out of that fight alive, she thought.

How strong will he become in a year?

Two years even?

"I may have made a terrible mistake Impa," Hyrule's princess managed out in a low-toned whisper; she grasped the dress around her thighs worriedly, clenching her fingers together. "What if something happens to him? To anyone else around him?"

"There's nothing to be done about it princess," Impa said with a shake of her head, attempting to knock her worries off as she folded her arms; the picture of fortitude itself. "He's a strong boy... I'm sure he'll be fine."

Easy for you to say, the Sheikah thought negatively.

Will he though...?


	11. Scaling Doubt

Chapter 11: Scaling Doubt  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"No Answer" - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).

–-

In his journey to his country's castle and its city, Link and his guardian fairy Navi at last deliver the fated message their fallen god, the Great Deku Tree, imparted to them. Though hoping desperately to be relieved of his mission, the country's princess manages to rope the pair into further assistance in 'saving' their very land from what seems to be a terrible danger indeed.

A man visiting from the desert fiefdom of Gerudo, allies himself with the lances and green grass of Hyrule itself through a private meeting with its king. Sensing the man's less-than-noble intentions, princess Zelda enlists the aid of the Great Deku Tree's last two vassals – a young boy from the Kokiri Forest and his guardian fairy in gathering the two remaining Spiritual Stones. In an attempt to gate-keep the Gerudo king from what she suspects is his aim – the Sacred Realm and the divine powers which lie within – Zelda remains confident in her ability to do so, except for one major miscalculation she has only now realised.

Having witnessed the hair-raising battle between her attendant Impa and the strangely possessed form of Link, Zelda could only theorise as to the origin of the chilling power of Aegir at his other side's command. However, now with sufficient research, the sagacious aristocrat has discovered the reasoning behind Link's fits of madness; in some bizarre twist of fate, the Kokiri's Aegir pertains to that of the divine Triforce itself. Whether he contains the holy artefact itself seems to be merely conjecture, however, the Quintessence with which he fights with is most definitely confirmed to be of it.

Furthermore, it would appear that though divine in reputation, this Aegir that Link contains is not holy but a darker, more evil kind of power. Similarly, it would appear that though this second side of the boy is helpful in desperate confrontation, it does not differentiate between friend and foe; indeed, with its unholy strength of the Sanmiitai, it turned on the capable Impa with everything in its frightening arsenal.

With such a worrying and terrifying amount of power lying dormant inside of him, Impa opts to assist Link in merely containing its terrible strength; with no hope of controlling or even harnessing it, she can only pray to the fabled Sainted Three that her efforts are not wasted in vain...

–-

Scene 1

"Thanks a lot Mr. Hero! Wa-ha-ha!"

With a twitch in his hardened frown, Link pressed forward, the memory of the Hylian footsoldier's hilarity ever present in his mind.

After having shown the carefully handwritten letter from Hyrule's princess itself, the little dumbstruck Kokiri had at least half-expected more of a reaction than just laughing.

And what's worse; he seemed to be laughing at him.

He sighed through his small nose as he trudged on up the sugary-brown coated mountain following from Kakariko. Having since left Hyrule Castle's courtyard and Impa's mentorship behind him, the determined boy made his journey forward into Kakariko at her advice and to finish the quest set before him as soon as possible.

As time passed he began to miss his forest and the last friend he had in it.

Saria.

"You okay?"

His dirty-blonde eyebrows lifted when he heard Navi's voice pluck him out of his ruminations; turning his head up to his top-right, he found her as always hovering next to him. With a light smile he shook his head in response.

"Y-Yeah," he replied, attempting to drive the melancholic mood he was conveying away with a weak beam. "Yeah I'm fine."

Ever since his ill-fated duel with Impa in the garden and the last few days being taught by her, he found he had no idea in how to speak to Navi anymore.

Not since she saw his second side; the side even he knew little to nothing of.

"Right..."

Her light voice, though easy-going, was filled with doubt.

Just as he had issues speaking to her it would appear that she also had problems.

What to do, he thought.

Whenever he thought about the dream he had with that peculiar voice he couldn't help but shudder in dread and fear.

Impa only told me it was a 'demonic presence', he thought.

What on earth do I tell everyone else?

His mind had indeed been thrown into a deep-seated chaos of doubt and scepticism.

"She's using you."

"That wild and reckless power... is not the answer."

Two contrasting statements, both spoken from places of advice and wisdom; one from his new mentor and sensei-like figure Impa and the other from the strange and unsettling voice in the back of his head.

Who to trust?

I wish Saria were here, he thought.

She'd know what to do.

"Link...,"

Navi's call, again, hauled him from his deep-seated thoughts; he turned to face her as he 'rounded a corner to the right.

"I think we should talk about... what happened a few days ago."

He knew exactly what she was talking about.

"W-What do you mean?" He lied in an attempt to lighten the dire atmosphere with a chuckle.

"I mean I saw you Link," the little sea-coloured fairy admitted as she faced him with her bright light. "We both did, Zelda and I; you were... frightening."

Link soon found himself avoiding her eyesight behind the bright bulbous body she wore so well.

Shame filled him and he almost had no idea why; with little to no memory on his excursions in his second side, he was no witness himself.

However, that should hardly excuse him.

"How much... did you see?" The little Kokiri tried hopefully, gradually turning his straw-haired head up to frown up at her.

"Enough," the small-bodied pixie claimed before elaborating further. "I saw pure red Aegir and a look in your eye that just wasn't you," she explained, ending her sentence with a pained whisper to her tone; Link couldn't help but stop his hike up Death Mountain briefly to listen from the sheer severity of the atmosphere. "You really looked like you were going to kill Impa..."

Silence descended upon the pair as the sun very slowly similarly sailed down the skyline, coating the sugary-brown landscape in a gorgeous orangey hue.

"I'm... sorry."

Though he apologised, he felt like he had no idea what he was expressing remorse for.

What else can I say to her?

"It's... okay," she murmured out quietly, flitting her blue light to hover up in his face. Surprising him with her proximity, he couldn't help but rise his two eyebrows at her sudden movement. "Just... don't change like that, will you?"

Strange question, he thought.

He shook his head in response, forcing a smile to cross his light features.

"Of course I won't." The little Kokiri declared softly; in response, Navi flew forward to rest her warm light on his small right cheek unusually affectionately.

Her words brought him back to an old dream he had of Saria when he was still staying at Lon Lon Ranch. He used his right hand to very delicately skim the fairy's body in a similar affectionate action absent-mindedly, his mind wandering to those words he remembered.

"You won't be who I remember."

~

Leaping to his left he narrowly avoided the gradual but swift rolling rock that threatened to flatten him; gasping as he watched it sail down the small brown hill he climbed, his sky-blue eyes widened when he heard a worrying sound.

THUD

Unsheathing his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield, the youth brought up his defensive armour, his options of movement very slim.

SLAM

The hungry and ugly-faced red Tektite was knocked back from the force of his sturdy wooden shield; with ricochet, it skid across the darkened ground, kicking up dust as it did.

"Now!"

Pressing forward on his urgent thoughts, Link dove forward with a deft and power-filled stab attack. He grunted as he tore the Kokiri Sword's strong steel through its crimson flesh; with a pained squeal, the spider-like creature was knocked a couple of steps backward before suddenly and angrily diving back at him, dome first. Widening his oceanic eyes and, out of reflex, Link leaned his green-garbed body to his right, narrowly avoiding the Tektite's counter-attack. Snapping his eyes to his far-left in pursuit, the youth didn't think about his final action and, instead, opted just to do it.

"Hyah!"

The boy effortlessly spun around in a half-way horizontal spin, tearing his weapon across its flesh one final time; the mountainous arachnid creature cried out one final time before its wounded parts of its body flew upward in slow-time, as if in its own universe somehow. Watching with transfixed eyes, Link could barely believe his own show of strength and speed; he spectated the red Tektite's body dissolve into emerald-green flame.

A very slow smile graced his youthful appearance, his morale similarly rising with the revelation he was faced with.

Maybe I don't have to rely on that second strength of mine, he thought.

"I've grown so much stronger since Impa-sensei taught me."

"Woah there! Settle down son!"

The youth, surprised by the interruption, raised a blonde eyebrow as he about-turned to face the source of the voice. Half-expecting to find Kaepora somehow tailing him up the mountain, he was again frustrated by wonder.

A strange creature, hunched over and standing on its own two legs stared back at him. Standing next to the huge rock on its left, the individual appeared to be a similarly rough in texture and design; almost like a stone-person somehow. Bumpy spots of smaller rocks appeared to be dotted around the creature's back, seemingly cementing its relation to the mountain it resided on. Its comically small feet in comparison to its large, strong frontal body made the staring Kokiri raise a curious eyebrow; even more stranger was what seemed to be a synchronised tattoo on the humanoid-shaped creature's arms.

It was like nothing Link had seen in his life.

"Wh-Wha-?" The stupefied youth could only murmur out as he stepped forward back down the hill he had begun to hike up to meet the person before him.

"You got a mean speed with that sword-arm of yours kid!" The unknown critter smiled down at him sociably, scratching the side of its rough-like textured stomach. "You a small one! You from Kakariko?"

Link could only blink back at the yet-to-be-classified creature before very slowly forming a smile of his own on his face to respond with. "N-No," he answered as he softly shook his head. "W-Well... I came up from Kakariko but..."

"Ohhh... Hylian from Hyrule Castletown huh?"

"N-No, sorry," Link chuckled apologetically, rubbing the back of his green-capped head as he briefly shut his eyes in a show of his awkwardness. "I'm a Kokiri; from Kokiri Forest?"

The rock-like person widened his beady little indigo-shaded eyes in a display of awe.

"You a long way from home kid!" He whistled out, impressed. "What you doin' all the way in the mountains for?"

Though the boy smiled and opened his mouth to answer the request, he was further interrupted by the boulder-backed creature.

"Hah! I'm sorry; I haven't even introduced myself, totally rude am I right," the seemingly imperturbable individual laughed boomingly before putting on a grin and elaborating. "Barkner's the name!" He laughed, extending forth his deceptively skinny left arm. Link winced and reciprocated the male's offer and, as expected, he held back from gasping at the pain he endured from the creature's incredible strength.

"L-Link...!" He wheezed out comically, nursing the shooting agony coursing through his right hand.

"So, a Kokiri are ya? Ya look more like a Hylian ta me!" The newly introduced Barkner laughed uproariously, seemingly in a good mood. Link could only blink back at him before exchanging an unsure shrug with the watching and listening Navi. "Ahh but Hylians don't have a fairy, do they!" He exclaimed as he stepped forward to gawk at the blue light hovering above the boy's shoulder.

Navi instinctively reared back a small bit in reaction to his movement, meaning no offence.

"Y-Yeah..." Link chuckled half-nervously as he watched, rubbing the back of his head in a sign of uneasiness; an old habit.

"Nice ta meet ya anyway kid! I'm a Goron!" Barkner spoke confidently, grinning widely as he folded his skinny rock-like arms, towering over the green-clothed youth. Link couldn't help but marvel as he listened; his lessons with Saria, Zelda and Impa coming in handy. Barkner's grin soon morphed into an unsure frown however as he continued. "What you doin' 'round these parts?" He requested again, raising an unsure eyebrow ever upwards.

"Well... as it turns out..."

–

2

"I'm impressed!"

Barkner's loud declaration made the listening Kokiri rub the back of his green-capped head in a display of light embarrassment. Having disclosed the reasoning for his venture and the details of his journey since leaving his home, his new companion agreed to lead him to his peoples' city.

A very fortunate turn of events indeed.

"You ain't all that meets the eye kid; no-one would've guessed ya been through hell and back!" The large Goron grinned down at the youth marching along contrastingly neatly beside him.

"It's not that impressive...," Link chuckled modestly in response. "You make it sound great."

"But it is!" Barkner insisted, a wide and confident grin drawn across his rocky expression. "A little guy like ya-self? A Kokiri doing all that? That is great!"

Though he knew Barkner wasn't lying, even if it was an attempt to liven the conversation up, Link couldn't help but doubt his words regardless.

His own confidence could use some boosting.

"Ah, here we are!"

Barkner's sudden call made him turn his head up from his negative ruminations; when they passed a platform containing small rocks it would appear his words contained truth. Ahead of them lay a set of three steps decorated with some large twin double-doors made of wood at either side; a clear entrance to a city of some kind. Bedecked above sat well-worn banner of small flags depicting an image Link had, by now, grown to recognise.

The image of the Triforce.

The object of the Gerudo king's pursuit.

I can't understand it, he thought.

What's the fascination with power? All it does is scare me.

Maybe there's more to this Ganondorf person's motives than I realise.

"Goron City!"

Barkner's words, again, pulled him out of his silent thoughts; the two managed to pass through large pair of double-doors and entered the very metropolis the muscled Goron spoke of.

It was somehow dirtier looking than Link had expected.

He pushed down the guilty feelings manifesting themselves in his nerves as a result of his wandering thoughts and stepped forward with his new companion at his side, drinking in the background of the municipality.

Light brown dominated the city's inside colours and shades; much as he had expected. Rocky and sandy in hue it gave Link the right impression – a tribe of what seemed to be people revolved around rocks and boulders.

Fitting for those residing on a deathly mountainous region.

"Welcome to our fair and humble home!" Barkner boomed sociably, his tattooed arms outstretched forward, as if for an embrace. Link couldn't help but smile lightly at his new friend's cheery and friendly attitude.

It was certainly infectious.

"It's not quite as colourful as a forest but I'm sure you'll fit right in!" The adult grinned back down at him, his eyes briefly shut as he did.

"Thanks," Link chuckled back. "Do you happen to know where your people's king is?"

"King? Oh we don't have a king no," Barkner retorted, his smile briefly vanishing from his face as he did; Link's own hopeful beam was soon lost to him in response. "We have a Big Brother though!" He added, soon regaining his happy grin; Link's listening frown slowly morphed back into an eager smile. "Big Brother Darunia! You wanna meet him I take it?"

"Yes, please; if he's the one who would have the Spiritual Stone of Fire?"

"Oh why didn't ya say so?!"

Barkner's words, so full of humour and laughter, could only make the listening little Kokiri exchange an unsure frown with his similarly heeding guardian fairy.

"Come on!" He called, beckoning him toward him as he waddled forward with a pull of his index finger over his shoulder.

Again, the blonde youth found himself exchanging an unsure frown with the floating Navi before shrugging and wordlessly following the eager Goron.

"Nice and careful across the tightrope now!"

Link's eyes widened when he found the very rope he was referring to; stopping his march just short of it he found it very small indeed.

He wanted to walk across this?

Was he insane?!

And yet, in spite of all of his worried and negative thoughts, there was the smiling Barkner very carefully and almost seemingly effortlessly walking along with it, defying what felt to him as the laws of very nature itself.

Well... if he can do it, Link began in his mind, his thoughts trailing off.

Gathering what little courage he had, the little blonde furrowed his brow in deep concentration as he began to follow on after the large male. Narrowing his eyes with his careful movement, he very conscientiously stepped across the nylon rope, one foot in front of the other. He found his oceanic eyes wandering downwards and they widened, very quickly shooting back up to match the frightened frown drawn on his expression.

Don't look down, don't look down.

When he finally crossed the distance however he was surprised at the discovery waiting for him; the grinning Barkner stood at the centre of the wooden platform in the middle of the area. His left arm gestured over toward what seemed to be a similarly wooden pedestal. Link narrowed his eyes over at it; a similarly-shaped hollow lay inside it, as if a placement for an item. Curiously, he found it was the same shape as Barkner's tattoo.

It was only then that he realised what the tattoo and the hollow were depictions of.

"Yep!" The Goron watching him grinned in, as if reading his very thoughts. "It's the Spiritual Stone of Fire!" He exclaimed, lowering his left arm and resting his right on his small hip. He regained a frown however when the curious Kokiri arched an eyebrow up in listening. "Or... it would be... but Big Brother recently took the stone out for some reason." He claimed, using his now free left arm to rub the back of his rocky head, turning it to stare down at it as he spoke. The listening Link couldn't help but frown in a dead-pan, comically annoyed expression in response.

He couldn't have told me this before we crossed it?

"Do you know where this 'Big Brother' is?" Link pressed, raising his hands to gesture with his question, eager to move on with his urgent mission.

The quicker I'm done here and wherever the next stone is the quicker I get back home, he thought.

"Big Brother Darunia? Sure!" Barkner replied energetically, his morale seemingly returned to him; with a deft turn of his index finger pointed downwards, he grinned. The curious Kokiri traced it with a raised blonde eyebrow, stepping forward to peer over the long drop. Below them appeared to be numerous floors to the large city they resided in; his eyes were caught by the lush carpet on the bottom ground floor. Directly opposite seemed to be a long door designed with the emblem of the same indentation left on the hollow next to him. Adjacent to the carpet lied an unlit torch; seemingly an important looking area, just as Barkner implied.

"Okay...," Link frowned as he shot his sky-blue eyes between each floor below him, looking for quick ways down. "How to...?"

"You're not really thinkin' of-?"

Answering by action, the blonde youth suddenly leapt forward, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in sheer concentration.

"Link!"

Navi's call echoed behind his small and pointed ears as he made a generous bound forward; when his brown boots touched the soft surface of the wooden railing on the first floor he couldn't help but let out a grin. Wasting barely any time the deft youth side-somersaulted athletically, finally landing on his destination; the ground floor. He knelt down as he did very briefly, a small smile gracing his expression.

All that training with Impa-sensei really paid off, he thought.

"At least I'm a lot faster now."

"That was reckless!"

Navi's second call made the little Kokiri about-turn to face her; the little blue guardian fairy came floating down to meet him, her blue light leaving behind small sparks of sky as she did.

"What would you have done if you broke a bone?!" She squeaked over at him, her tone annoyed. In spite of her confrontational inflection, Link couldn't help but grow a small smile on his face as he listened, watching her approach him. Though, in all of her rage, she did not seem to notice what he did.

Their atmosphere had finally returned to normal.

Never had Link found himself desiring a deeply annoying tongue-lashing from Navi of all people but here he was.

And it felt strangely therapeutic, especially after all that awkwardness between them since his fated fight with Impa in Hyrule Castle.

"What? What in the name of the Sainted Three is so funny?" The little blue pixie snapped down at him as she drew closer to his smiling face. Despite her mood his smile merely widened as she did and he shook his blonde head, beginning a similarly small chuckle to go alongside it. "Hey!"

"You two sure are close!"

Barkner's words, though friendly as always, yanked the gasping Navi out of her anger; the listening Link swivelled his head 'round in his already sociable smile to nod over in greeting. The Goron had seemingly managed to follow him effortlessly in utilising his own athleticism.

These Goron people sure are amazing, the little Kokiri thought.

Finally realising Link's mood was so infuriatingly jolly in thanks to Barkner's words, Navi's eyes widened behind her blue body appearance in a mixture of revelation and embarrassment.

"But hey; that was impressive!" The Goron grinned further over at the smiling youth, stepping closer toward the party of two. "Where'd you learn all that?"

Link laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his green-capped head. "I was taught quite a bit before I left Hyrule Castletown."

Smacking his rocky right palm into his open left vertically he grinned and nodded back in remembrance. "Ah; yeah, of course!" The Goron nodded in a recognising grin. "Your teacher!"

Nodding in response, a grateful smile across his complexion, he opened his mouth to reply. "I owe her a lot." He admitted honestly in a soft chuckle.

I really do, he thought.

In spite of that however, his second side's words echoed within his head, doubting him and confusing him.

"She's using you."

His memory of his mirror form's words stayed with him, regardless of Impa's efforts in sealing him away with her powerful Aegir.

He could almost feel him knocking away very carefully at the magically infused doors of his incarceration in the back of his mind, as if looking for some way out of his cage.

The thought chilled him, truly.

"Welp, sorry kid but the door's shut unfortunately," the Goron's loud but affable voice interrupted his thoughts, scratching the centre of his rocky head as he did so, staring at the raised wall depicting their race's treasure. "If I remember, Big Brother shut himself away to wait for a messenger from the royal family."

Messenger from the royal family?

Link's blue eyes narrowed in response.

Wouldn't I be one of those, he thought.

"Messenger..." Link parroted in a doe-eyed murmur, stepping forward; Barkner blinked, his attention grabbed by the youth's sudden but soft movement. Taking out the treasured ocarina his only friend had given to him, he shut his eyes and brought it up to his mouth.

"Hey, what's he-?"

"Sh!"

Link attempted to drown out all outside noises, eyes shutting as he focused purely on one thing.

"Remember now... that song I taught you on your instrument has the power to prove your connection to the royal family."

Impa's words not mere days ago.

Straining his memory for the notes he began to play them, just as he was taught. The soft sound of the beautiful ocarina that Saria crafted filled the room and, surprised, Barkner and Navi could only watch. Entranced by his play, they remained quiet and waited as the green-clothed youth played through the noble composition taught to him by the princess' very attendant.

Zelda's Lullaby.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

CREAK...

The party of three stood, transfixed and watching; though Barkner and Navi witnessed the oncoming event with widened eyes and a shocked facial expression, the narrow-eyed Link merely stared forward, leaning his head very lightly to the side as he did so. A brief period of silence descended down upon the watching and waiting group.

The moment of truth.

WHIRR-WHIRR-WHIRR...

A grin finally broke out on the watching Link's face; his eyebrows lowered in a confident furrowing to match the rest of his expression.

"By the Megaton's Hammer...!" Barkner gasped aloud, shock creasing his already rocky face.

"Link! That's incredible!" Navi breathed out as she flew down to meet him, her blue light leaving small similarly shaded particles of sky behind her. The little Kokiri turned with a frown to face her, blinking initially. "How did you know to-?"

"Well when Barkner mentioned the royal family... I guess I just thought of that song Impa-sensei gave us." The blonde boy chuckled half-nervously as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, raising the ocarina with his other.

"Smart kid!" The Goron praised with a grin on his face, folding his mendaciously skinny arms together as he nodded down his approval. "Well, you goin' in?"

Link couldn't help but blink back up at his guide and assister before soon about-turning his blonde head to his left.

Strange, he thought.

Why am I hesitating now?

~

When the three entered the surprisingly large room Link's sky-blue eyes swept over his surroundings; two similarly designed rugs lay before him – one not far from his current position in the doorway and the second under the decorative piece at the end of the room. In the far right stood two tables with three pots all laid out around them. Two lit torches sat on other side of the main attraction in the hall; Link's eyes – and attention – was grabbed by the big and beefy Goron in the centre of the room. With an imposing size, he easily towered over the little Kokiri and even his fellow Goron Barkner. On his muscular arms he wore a pair of bracelets and a rocky-like beard adorned his chin; six tufts all dropped from the front on each side of his face. Finally, war-paint of some kind decorated his face, just under his similarly beady but large blue orbed eyes. When he caught sight of the little Link staring back up at him anxiously, the huge Goron's frown took a deeper turn, leaning forward to get a look at his visitor.

Was this Darunia?

"What in the...?" He began in a low rumbling murmur. "What in the hell of Hyrule is going on out there?! They send a child to meet with me?!"

"B-Big Brother... you gotta understand-"

"Barkner!" The large Goron, presumably Darunia, greeted. His deep voice bounced aggressively off the walls of the chamber. "What's the meaning of this?!"

"Come on Big Bro; calm down," the chuckling Barkner attempted to soothe his companion down with a light raise of his left arm. "We finally got a response from the king after all huh?"

His words seemed to mitigate the hard-frowning Darunia's anger though only temporarily. "Hmph!" He growled back before soon revolving his grumpy frown down on the shaking Link. "So? What about you then? Out with it!"

The listening Kokiri couldn't help but exchange an unsure frown with the head-shaking Navi. Their silence only drew further rage from the waiting Goron leader. Instead of opening his mouth however, the narrow-eyed Darunia very slowly – and seemingly deliberately – knelt down on the boy's level to look him dead in the eye. An uncomfortable silence descended down upon the group and Link was left with almost no-where to turn to; he instinctively avoided the towering male's hardened gaze, fear driving every nerve in his body.

Why was he so angry?

"Is this really what Daphnes thinks of his sworn brother...?" Darunia whispered slowly, laying his hulking arms across his similarly toned legs in his knelt down position. "To send but a Hylian child to me in our hour of need...?"

"Uh Big Bro, he's not really a-"

"SILENCE!"

Even the listening Barkner winced in response, drawing his finger and arm back from his earlier point.

"I refuse to speak to a child about matters as serious as ours!" Darunia re-opened his mouth to continue, his voice still loud and audibly agitated. "Leave! I have much more important things to do than to babysit!" He declared further, narrowing his eyes angrily down at the youth below him.

Though Link visibly cringed from the sheer intensity and intimidating nature of the much larger male's voice and presence, he attempted anyway to stand his ground.

Either he gives us the Spiritual Stone of Fire, he thought...

… or he doesn't and this quest is over.

The thought itself was quickly becoming very appealing.

His incessant daydreaming soon found his mind wandering and then lingering on the one thing he associated with his childhood and his past; his only friend.

Saria.

I miss you, he thought.

He opened his mouth to make his apologies and successfully leave but, before he could, the warily smiling Barkner replied soon after, stifling his attempt.

"Come on boss; I'll sing ya that tune from the forest ya love so much!"

Link's eyes widened as he caught the smiling Goron's words to his right.

"What...?"

"Barkner... I said no," Darunia insisted through angered, grit teeth. "Now get him the hell out of here!"

Barkner couldn't mean... Saria's Song...

… could he...?

"But... Big Brother... he's here for a very important reason..."

"I don't care! We have enough problems as there is!"

Link, by now, had tuned the two Gorons' voices out of his ears and his head; shutting his eyes he did just as he had done not mere minutes ago. Bringing up his best friend's treasured creation to his lips, the little Kokiri gathered his courage and searched his memories desperately for the elusive notes to his dearest friend's masterpiece. As he did however, he found her soft and demure voice echoing through his head; recollections of things she once said to him all came flooding back with the notes she once played.

"Don't be so tense all the time Link..."

He attempted to relax his muscles and the fierce beating of his heart.

"I'm so proud of you..."

He tried to find the belief in himself that she so often instilled him with.

"I'll be waiting for you... don't take too long, okay?"

As if coaxed out by his memories, the soft notes to Saria's Song jumped straight into a lively jig, filling the room with its high energy. Surprising himself with his flawless play, Link continued on, his eyes still shut; the listening Barkner and Darunia by now had turned their eyes over in attention to the youth. At first the pair raised their bushy eyebrows up at the boy before, eventually, they found their rocky feet tapping in tune to the catchy music playing from the Kokiri's ocarina. Barker was first to bob his head and switch his frown into an enjoyable smile, taking his own indulgence up a notch. Darunia, though watching him with a lightly annoyed frown, soon found himself imitating his junior, as if unsure on the cause.

Eventually, however, leagues into the song he began to find himself twirling madly and dancing with the laughing Barkner.

"Yeah!"

His hardened, deep voice caused the playing Link to widen his cerulean eyes mid-note; though he witnessed the huge Darunia dance in place wildly, he opted not to do anything to draw attention to himself.

Don't stop, for the love of the fallen Deku Tree, Link thought desperately.

"C'mon!"

Darunia's words, surprisingly hearty and cheery, boomed on to join with his compatriot's laughing.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

Twisting and tossing his head around in an unfathomable gesture of enjoyment and dance, the beefy mountain of a Goron moved in such a defying way that Link could merely watch in speechless shock as he sailed through the rest of the melody.

"What a hot beat! YEEEAH! YAHOOO!"

Finally, as Saria's Song's melody ended, the chieftain finished his impromptu hustle and, as he did, the similarly smiling Barkner opted to stop moving also.

"That was somethin' else!" Darunia threw in with a grin, placing his meaty arms on either side of him. As the watching Kokiri brought his instrument down with a frown he waited curiously for the leader to follow up. "Hey, listen; I'm sorry I was so surly before," the Goron apologised, his mood seemingly jolly. "I am Darunia!" He finally opted to introduce himself, a smile gracing his rocky complexion. "I'm the big boss of the Gorons!"

Link smiled, his own cheer and morale slowly rising back up to match the mood of the conversation. Barkner at his side couldn't help but grin alongside his leader, proud and buoyant, his arms folded as he was.

"So! What did you need son?" Darunia smiled down at the youth sociably.

"Funny you should ask...," Link chuckled half-nervously as he rubbed the back of his head; an old habit. Darunia merely turned his head lightly in curiosity as he listened and waited for the little Kokiri to elaborate further. "I've been sent by the royal-" he began in a light frown before soon widening his eyes.

Should I mention her specifically, he thought.

Yeah, let's do it.

"By the princess," he added, this time in a light smile. This time, the listening Darunia rose a rocky eyebrow upward, curious. "She's asked me to acquire the-"

"Spiritual Stone of Fire maybe?"

Surprised, the green-garbed boy widened his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time; he exchanged a brief glance with the frowning and shrugging Barkner.

Did he tell him?

"I had a feeling," Darunia added as he chuckled lightly, tilting his head as he did so. "A man also came up here, looking for it."

Link's blood suddenly ran cold.

I think I know who he means, he thought.

Please don't let it be him.

"A man claiming to be the envoy of Hyrule's king Daphnes himself showed up not long before you," the Goron chieftain explained very briefly, his initially re-cheered smile soon descending slowly into a melancholic frown. "Ganondorf I believe his name was."

Link lowered his blue eyes in recognition.

Oh joy, he thought to himself, his confidence sinking into the plush carpet he rested his Kokiri boots on.

"That's why I've been so angry lately," he sighed in addition, raising his muscular arms to fold them "When I refused his request he decided to respond rather angrily himself."

"W-What did he-?"

Sensing his response coming, Darunia cut off the youth and replied in return. "He plugged our one source of food; the Dodongo's Cavern," the leader explained briefly before elaborating further. Noticing the youth's unsure look, he continued. "We Gorons have a diet consisting mainly of rocks and meat; there's very little meat to go around, especially in the mountains."

"Ohhh..." Link murmured out thoughtfully, nodding as he realised the race's dilemma.

"Hey... I just thought of something!"

Barkner's impetuous interruption caused the speaking pair to curve their eyes in his direction, both curious and all; the happy-faced Goron grinned as he tossed up a stubby index finger into the air, almost as if thinking of an amazing idea.

"How about we go down there and clear out that cavern of those Dodongos?"

Link's eyes widened and a chill of fear suddenly ran up his spine.

"You're not... serious Barkner...," Darunia chuckled in a half-unsure, half-curious raise of his eyebrow. "There's a lot of those things down there and..."

"'He's only a child'."

The listening Link finished Darunia's sentence off silently in his mind, a cynical nature fast taking root inside of him.

I don't like where this is going, he thought to himself, a dreading feeling filling him.

"I've seen him fight! He ain't no slouch!" Barkner spoke up for his new friend; with an oblivious but well-meaning grin he turned his head down to face the blonde youth before briefly shutting his eyes and raising a thumbs up at him. Link could only smile half-measuredly back in response, unable to open his mouth to dash the man's hopes. "And you know me Big Bro; I'm one tough mother!"

"Hrm...," Darunia murmured as he folded his arms conscientiously, watching the pair; his hardened blue orbs soon fixed themselves on the frowning Kokiri boy himself before he re-opened his mouth to continue. "Son... what is your name?"

Finding himself being addressed, the little forest-youth rose his dirty-blonde eyebrows and attempted to stand up straighter. "L-Link sir..."

"Link...," Darunia hummed out lowly in an understanding nod before continuing. "And do you approve of this? Dodongos aren't just simple forest creatures you know."

Something tells me they're living nightmares, he shot back silently.

"There's only really one answer here..."

Responding to Hyrule's princess' plea and the one request he did not want to answer, Link dove deep within and opened his mouth.

"Yes." He said, forcing a smile back in response.

A similar smile, only of stronger material, grew on the listening Goron chief's face as he watched the boy beneath him.

"I don't believe it...," he began, shaking his head almost as if incredulously. Even the listening Barkner could merely tilt his head in curiosity. "Kid...," the much taller male started again as he began to slowly rumble towards him. Feeling uneasy, the watching Link took an instinctive step back, eyebrow rising up. Darunia soon found himself kneeling down to meet the boy on his level, resting his left forearm across his raised left knee before opening his mouth. "I like your style!"

SLAM

"Hngh...!"

With wide and teary-eyed pain Link comically grit his teeth as the wind was, quite literally, knocked right out of him; the much more muscled male mashed his right arm across his little shoulder and back. Barkner laughed uproariously as he watched, the atmosphere of the once tense meeting soon turning to an uplifting one.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Reconnoitering  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Dodongo's Cavern" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 2 (First & Second Halves).

\--

Having been sent north-east to Death Mountain in search of the mountain resident's Spiritual Stone, Link and Navi make exceptional progress in their adventure. Utilising the speed, skill and strength that Impa taught him, the small Kokiri boy and his ever loyal guardian fairy seek the peak by way of Kakariko Village.

They meet a wise-cracking footsoldier of the Hyrulean armed forces that pokes fun at the youth and his handwritten letter from the country's princess; in spite of his jokes however, he allows them passage regardless and the pair find themselves on Death Mountain's trail.

While on his way up and after dispatching of one of the many red Tektites infesting the mountain, Link meets with a local Goron by the name of Barkner. With his assistance Navi and Link press on, using his knowledge and new friendship as a guide through the otherwise dangerous sierra.

Pushing further on the party of three soon find themselves in the mountain people's capital; Goron City. While there Link discovers that the owner of the Spiritual Stone of Fire is also the Goron's leader; an adult male referred to as the race's 'Big Brother' by the name of Darunia. Though Link's initial attempt to convince Darunia to hand the Spiritual Stone over fail, he discovers through the helpful words of Barkner that he has a penchant for the music of the forest he comes from.

Drawing on his past relationship with his greatest friend, he plays Saria's Song for Darunia on the ocarina she once gave him; the music successfully perks the once angry Goron up and he begins to listen to reason before soon explaining his race's unfortunate predicament. Having received a visit from the elusive Gerudo king Ganondorf, they refuse to give up their Goron's Ruby to him. In livid retaliation, he opts to block the starving Gorons' their food supply by standing a huge boulder in the way of the Dodongo Cavern. As a result of the poor Bomb Flower crop as well, the race of mountain people are very slowly but surely starving to death.

In a bizarre twist of fate however, when faced with Link's request for the Goron's Ruby, Barkner opts to volunteer himself and his new friend Link in a mission to rid the Dodongo's Cavern of the infestation of monsters. Finding himself unable to refuse given the dire straits of the race, Link accepts these conditions and steels his nerves for what will be his greatest challenge yet.

By the day and night's end he will know what a Dodongo's roar shall sound like...

\--

Scene 1

Rotating his arm 'round the air with a frown on his face, Link watched the early morning sunlight shine reflectively off the bright golden bracelet he wore. On it was depicted a rather bright and visible symbol – the same symbol he remembered from the insides of Goron City; what seemed to be four indents, all spaced rather well enough to form what appeared to be a ruby.

"It suits ya!"

Link turned 'round to face the ever-grinning face of Barkner, the Goron he met merely a day before.

Strange to think how comfortable the adult Goron had gotten with speaking to him, a mere Kokiri from the woods of the forest.

Odd... but definitely heart-warming.

The normally cynical blonde boy had to crack a smile as he faced his new friend and travelling companion, grateful for his friendliness.

"Thanks...," the youth chuckled back in response, rubbing the back of his head with his spare right arm before soon returning his thoughtful frown to face the bracelet. "I'm just surprised he gave me it."

"Not me!" Barkner shot back in a smarmy grin, almost as if already knowing; Link couldn't help but grow a small smile across the similarly slight features on his face as he listened. "I just knew there was somethin' different about you from first glance!"

"I think you're probably being far too generous with it," Link threw back, his head leant low to his left side in his chuckling smile. "But I'm very flattered."

"Your days with the princess really paid off!"

The pair of males turned their heads up to the sound of the female's voice chiming in from high above; as they descended slowly down Death Mountain's trail, the blue light that was Link's guardian fairy, Navi, shone before them. Acknowledging her words, Link laughed nervously as he swept his similarly sky-blue eyes sideways in light evasion.

"Oh-ho! The princess?!" Barkner began in banter, brunting his suggestive grin down towards the green-capped boy. "A sagacious kid are we?"

"Since when did you know what sagacious even means...?" Link shot back half-cheekily, raising a curious dirty-blonde eyebrow as he did, a light grin crossing his lips. The smirking Barkner turned his head lowly and comically ran his stubby fingers across his bare open front-chest, as if shining them in pride.

"I'm movin' on up kid! Gotta keep with the times!"

A very brief period of silence shot in between them before, suddenly, the pair erupted into well-natured laughter.

This had to be the first time since leaving Lon Lon Ranch that he had felt this kind of joy and amusement.

It was nice.

~

"We're here!"

Navi's bittersweet interruption made the Kokiri snap out of his short-lived bliss; sure enough as he turned his eye downward to confirm, there they were, overlooking the area where he once met Barkner the former day. A few Gorons stood all around congregated together, murmuring quietly as they watched the extremely large boulder in front of them.

Placed not far from the group of Gorons was the chief Goron himself; Darunia, Big Brother to his race, was positioned a few steps from them with his arms folded. Turning his eye backward and with a raised bushy eyebrow he turned his initially hard frown into a light grin as he waved the two down.

Here we go, Link thought to himself, dread soon creeping into his body.

The impending task that Barkner had impetuously signed him and himself both up for resounded in his eleven-year old mind.

I have to go in there, he thought...

… and clear it out of Dodongos.

Even though he had never seen what a Dodongo looked like, the mere thought terrified him.

No!

Have more confidence in yourself, he thought, attempting to argue with his normally coward-like nature.

Impa-sensei believed in me, he ruminated with a firm-line nod.

"Yeah..." He echoed very quietly, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Ah!"

Link turned his eyes up, surprised by the interruption. Darunia smiled over at the pair, beckoning them further toward him with a pull of his buff arm and fingers.

"Little Link and Barkner; come, come!" He called the two over sociably, smiling on as he did so. Exchanging a light nod together, the trio of allies paced toward him in their own time, soon taking visage of the great boulder laying before them. Link couldn't help but tilt his blonde head very lightly to the side in half-confusion and half-wonder.

How would we get through and clear out the cavern of those Dodongo things, he thought.

Enviable thoughts of avoidance soon began to creep their way into his brain; he couldn't help but wish for the job to be insurmountable.

It filled him with unsurprising shame in knowing that the Goron race would suffer for it.

"Big bro!" Barkner called out in greeting, his voice almost as booming as the deep-voiced Darunia. "How's it lookin'?"

"Very well actually!" The Goron chief shot back in a knowing grin, nodding in response. "We're just waiting on the news," he continued on before soon nodding his head once more, this time vertically. Link raised a curious dirty-blonde eyebrow as he traced it. "Looks as if we're getting it now..."

The youth, his guardian fairy and his new Goron companion turned their head 'round to trace the chief's gaze; approaching the group was another of their race carefully stepping down the hill from which the heroes had once came. Link raised his straw-shaded eyebrows upward when he spotted the pot of what seemed to be dirt; his mind raced very quickly at possibilities of its contents. Soon however as he came closer within their range he managed to catch a very brief look.

What looked to be a crown of green leaves encircled a black spherical item; just as with a crown, numerous stalactite-formed shapes of leaves shot up to frame the ebony-shaded sphere. Link could only blink in further confusion when he watched it ferried very carefully over to the Gorons' chief and leader; his thoughts intensified and he narrowed his sky-blue eyes at it in wonder.

What was that?

"Ah, here we are!" Darunia grinned knowingly, taking the pot surprisingly carefully from his emissary's similarly judicious grip. "Great work out there Remo!"

"Anything I could do to help boss!" The presumably hard-working Goron shot back in a bright-eyed smile, saluting his big brother off as he did so. Link couldn't help but lean forward in his curious stare, finding his short stature an obstacle in his attempted observation; with a much taller form, the similarly frowning Barkner re-folded his arms and tilted his head at the flower.

"You really think it'll work bro?"

"I know it will," Darunia shot back, flashing his skeptical friend a confident grin in response. As he lowered the pot down very carefully, the group of Gorons around him began to clear away from the area in a hurried gesture indeed. Reaching down as he placed it, Darunia narrowed his eyes and grunted lightly as he plucked the seemingly dangerous plant from its resting place.

CLICK

TSSS...

Link's oceanic eyes widened as he listened and watched the black-shaded sphere light up with what seemed to be a fuse of some kind.

Did that mean it was going to...

"Explode...?"

Just as he thought it, with effort, Darunia tossed the fizzing sphere forward, eyes set on it. The watching Navi, Barkner and Link could only watch in transfixed, widened eyes. In response, the similar-faced Darunia about-turned and began to run toward their current position.

A sudden and uncomfortable surge of anxiety and panic shot through Link's back and body as he watched, in immediate knowing of what was to come.

"RUUUUUN!"

Acting quickly, Barkner and his leader ran as far as their legs would take them; following their example, Link allowed his body to make the choice instead of merely making it himself.

With intense agility having been taught by his mentor earlier, the quick Kokiri youth pushed his body up from the ground beneath him roughly. With enough force to send himself vaulting backward, Link flew through the air rearward; barely catching onto his ever trusty green hat, Navi gasped as she flew with him at a speed and pace even she was uncomfortable with.

BOOOOM

Ahead of him and his now safe companions, the huge boulder before them blew up into a massive and meaty explosion. The ordeal left little else but a similarly considerably sized smoke-cloud of effort in the blast. When it eventually cleared however and the group of Gorons could get a full look at the destruction they had caused they let out a final uproarious shout, filled to the brim with morale. Surprised briefly by their exuberance, Link's aquatic eyes widened as he watched them all cry out in joy, as if in battle somehow.

They were very peculiar, he thought... these Gorons.

"Excellent work Remo!" Darunia's booming voice exclaimed suddenly; all attention was pulled toward the group of Gorons as their leader took the laughing Remo by his neck and embraced him brotherly and affectionately. Their surrounding comrades all gave cries of approval and knocks on their shoulders and chest – seemingly another show of familial fondness.

"That's easy for them to be in such high spirits, but..."

Navi's low-toned murmur caused the pondering Link to snap his narrow-eyed frown over to the humongous darkened chamber, now open to him.

Pure blackness as far as his marine eyes could see.

Don't be afraid now, he thought.

"Step forward."

–

2

Silence.

Silence and an eerie sense of background noise made the listening Link lean his eyes around the inside of the cavern he now stood in. Directly ahead of him lay what seemed to be a notably cracked wall blocking further entrance and around seemed to be two small inclines to higher, albeit, very shallow hills. Resting on top of both appeared to be similar-shaped plants seemed to be Bomb Flowers, identical to the one Darunia had produced merely moments ago.

He felt the sudden urge to make an excuse, turn and leave.

Something told him that further exploration of this cavern, regardless of intent, was just foolish.

"She's using you..."

His other side's words remained ever poignant in his mind and in his thoughts.

"Looks like one of these'll open that!"

Barkner's interruption, so sharp to his ears, made the Kokiri youth swivel his blonde-haired head 'round in a rattled frown. Indeed, the grinning Goron compounded the boy's consternation even further when he suddenly and, without warning, plucked and thus tossed the fizzing explosive forward.

"Hngh...!"

With a similarly surprised grunt, Link dove his way to his right in immediate evasion; hitting the dirt, roughly coughing up dust and smoke of his own.

BOOM-SMASH

Just as before, the explosion caused a huge shock-wave across the ground that made Link gasp; he grasped at the ground as hard as he could in an attempt not to be blown back from the sheer strength it carried. With substantial success, the little Kokiri overcame the power difference and shot his head up to watch the smoke cloud before him slowly dissipate. As the smiling Barkner waddled along toward him to offer a hand he graciously took it, his pelagic eyes never leaving the new opening before the party of three.

"This is it!" Barkner whispered as he, in time, gradually rose up his two clenched fists to waist-level, pacing forward as he did so. The growing grin upon his face made the frowning Link question his very motives. "All my life has led to this moment...!"

How could he be so excited?

Link had to suppress a shudder as he wove away the rest of his negative ruminations.

Think positive, he thought.

"Come on little bro!" The ever-grinning Barkner shot over his shoulder, swivelling his rocky head 'round his shoulders to face him briefly. "We gotta press on!"

With that the mountain-bound male jogged forward, moving past the now open corridor. Following behind him, Navi bounced her blue light through the sulphurous air while the frowning Link merely padded his Kokiri boots after his companion. Sweeping his eyes across his new surroundings he drank them in expectantly; a long wooden bridge lay to his front, reaching far enough into what seemed to be a deep and fiery pit. Around the lava-infused pit were three slowly rising and similarly falling platforms of ground; seemingly leading to a single large platform in the centre, a single strange statue stood staring across the entirety of the cavern itself.

It was unlike anything Link had ever seen before.

To the platforms' direct sides however were similarly long terraces that seemed to go for as long as the cavern's breadth was. The little Kokiri quickly noted a Bomb Flower lying in wait on the right, a platform above even that and a similarly placed Goron crop on the left plateau; suspiciously next to it however was another cracked and shallow wall.

Perhaps it had weaknesses like the first?

There's our first clue at least, he further pondered.

"That's incredible..."

"What's incredible...?" Link murmured back out in response raising a curious eyebrow in his companion's direction however, as he did, he soon realised the subject of the conversation.

An aptly described skull, huge in size and stature, sat frowning down upon them from on-high. A fresh dose of fear shot through Link and his nerves as he drank in the appearance of the lizard-shaped skull; coloured a dull grey, its eyes were similarly dulled out, as if to suggest and confirm its state of living.

Or lack thereof.

Please don't let them be that size, Link thought in felt like pure vain.

"It's said that in Dodongo society, only the strongest survive...," Barkner began to elaborate, his voice aptly low. "Only the greatest, the king of the Dodongo, may kill another and take its skull as a trophy."

Link had to hold himself back from gasping in sheer terror when he realised exactly what that massive dead skull was now.

A sense of panic, nothing like ever before, filled him.

"And become the true patriarch of their society...," the Goron finished his explanation, a glint in his eye shining briefly as he eyed the dead skull before him. "I can't wait!"

In a strange mixture of half-frustration and half-bewilderment, Link shot a confused and raised eyebrow frown over to stare back at the clenched fisted Goron.

I can't understand him, he thought.

"Okay!" Barkner began again, his tone excited as he rushed his head and body 'round to face the young boy and his guardian fairy. "I think our best chance to do this is to split up!"

Link's eyebrows rose in a show of disbelief.

Was he joking?

"If we do that we can divide and conquer!"

"Conquer ourselves maybe, yeah!" Navi suddenly squeaked back indignantly, annoyed by his infernal tone of excitement. "We haven't even seen a Dodongo in our lives! How will we fight one?"

Link had to give her it; Navi spoke the words with which he wanted to himself.

"Oh, yeah," Barkner suddenly frowned back out, his tone of voice soon descending down to a calmer, more understanding one. "I keep forgettin' you guys ain't Gorons."

Though far too polite to laugh at his new companion for his unintentional negligent attitude, he merely smiled back, shaking his blonde-haired head back at him. Navi huffed in a contrasting display of discontent however, her usual blue light taking on a light shade of red.

"Sorry!" The well-meaning Goron laughed, rubbing the back of his rocky head with his similarly craggy right arm. "So what do you two think our best choice should be?"

This time, Navi turned to exchange what seemed to be a frown behind her bright beryl light with the similarly frowning Link.

It appeared they also were both clueless on what to do.

"I imagine taking it slowly, side by side and working together, we can overcome this fairly comfortably."

Comfortably, she says, Link thought to himself. His eyes couldn't help but narrow up at her on his diagonally upward left side in a display of distrust and scepticism.

"Okay then! Let's do it!" Barkner shot back as he about-turned on his feet, a confident grin upon his lips. "Together!"

~

"Hide!"

BOOM-SMASH

Wincing at the explosion caused by his Goron companion, Link muffled his small and pointed ears with his similarly modestly sized hands. Placed and hidden 'round a long and tall pillar of what seemed to be hardened lava-rock he, Navi and Barkner all used its front as a defence against the blast of the Bomb Flower the Goron tossed earlier. Pulling himself up from the ground he threw himself on, Barkner eagerly 'rounded his wide-eyed frown around the corner and put on another of his usual excited grins.

"All right! It worked!"

Curious, Link re-opened his eyes, took his hands off his ears and craned his neck across the pillar; sure enough, the cracked wall that they targeted earlier had broken without a hitch.

"Good call," Navi praised for a change, nodding her blue-bodied light forward before flying forward to lead the charge. "Let's go!"

"You bet!" Barkner grinned, jogging to catch up with the rocketing fairy.

Link couldn't help but huff once in a display of uncertainness and anxiety. Pushing down his negative feelings for what felt like the umpteenth time however, the Kokiri youth pressed forward in a brisk walk to meet his two companions' paces. His own pace soon halted however when he noticed the Goron and his ocean-coloured guardian fairy both hovering in place. Link couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow as he approached, frowning and opening his mouth to voice his silent thoughts.

"What's-?"

"Don't!"

The blonde boy snapped his head half-way 'round to narrow his eyes in response to Navi's sudden and desperate demand. Soon however he realised why; as in response to the deep steps he took in the soft and earthy ground below him, his eyes widened when they caught something rising up from it. A large-sized creature wiggled out, dark-green in colour and seemingly lizard in shape. Link found his frown hardening and his brow furrowing in wondering as he examined it as quickly as he could in his small time-frame.

What in the name all that was holy was that...?

"Get away from it!"

SHIIING

Ignoring Navi's squeaking orders, Link unsheathed his small but deadly Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield before glaring back at the wiggling little lizard. As if crawled roughly upon the ground, it made contrastingly low cheeping sounds, wiggling along after him.

Whatever it was, it was hostile.

Without another word in his thoughts, the little Kokiri yelled once as he drew his weapon sharply and horizontally across the air; the attack struck true and the little lizard let out a pained yelp, its cry of agony ricocheting off the walls of the Dodongo's cavern. As it spun around wildly from the sheer strength Link seemed to command, the blonde boy could only blink back down at it, transfixed and surprised at its lack of resistance.

Was it really that weak...?

He relaxed his stance and used his shield-holding hand to rub the back of his head in a display of his curiosity, frowning as he did so.

"Link get out of the way!"

This time he heeded his fairy's loud warning call; the youth's sky-blue eyes widened and he double-took in his fallen adversary's direction. Its downed carcass began to flash red continually and the boy gasped.

It was going to explode!

Urgency gripped him and he used his Aegir to push off of the ground, teeth grit; he managed to launch his body backward, following the retreating Barkner and Navi behind him. His boots skidded roughly along the soft earthy ground and he couldn't help but cringe when he felt and witnessed the inevitable detonation before him.

"Is everyone all right?!" Barkner's call came from the far-off right side of the area, next a cracked wall.

"I think so!" Navi managed back, a similarly panicked but resetting tone to her voice. As she shook her blue body of her earlier trepidation, the little fairy turned to face her far-off charge. "Link! Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah...," he began in response, his eyes narrowed forward. "What... what were those things? Were they Dodongos?"

Please let them be; I might have a chance if they are, he thought. Almost as if sensing his speculation however, Barkner put on a worried look on his own frown as he shook his head in response.

"Nah... sorry kid," the Goron responded in his morose frown. "Those were just babies."

Those were baby Dodongos?!

Then how large were the real ones?

Link shuddered at the very thought however, was afforded very little time in his ruminations; his eyes darted in a gasp when he found some more of the lizard-like creatures crawling up from the ground.

Not again!

"Be careful!"

Thinking quickly and acting on Navi's urgent call, the nimble-contemplating youth went into his tunic and inside inventory to produce a Deku Nut. Watching and transfixed, the wide-eyed Barkner could only stand and speculate silently on the scene. Navi, however, seemed to realise her charge's intentions.

"Yes!"

With a light grunt, Link tossed the Deku Nut downward, shutting his eyes as he did.

FLASH

Although they gave no screech or squeak, the response the three baby Dodongos gave was satisfying indeed; simultaneously they all turned a deep-blue colour, eradicating their original violent grin. As the Deku Nut exploded around them the three dinosaur-like monsters spun around in mid-air, seemingly now harmless. This time, it was Link's turn to speak; he turned to the gasping Barkner and hovering Navi, his eyes widening as he did.

"Go!"

–

3

Catching their breath, the heaving Barkner and Link sat across from one another in the next corridor they had previously run through in their evasion of the stunned trio of baby Dodongos.

"I dunno why you just didn't kill 'em bro!" Barkner gasped out amidst his own breaths to catch himself. "They were all dizzied!"

"Y-Yeah... but-"

"Sometimes it's better to sidestep a fight and avoid it altogether," Navi interrupted her companion in an attempt to stand up for his decision. Link's eyebrows rose in a mixing display of light surprise and curiosity. "Isn't that right?"

His initially surprised frown soon morphed slowly into an assenting nod. "Y-Yeah..." He said gratefully.

"You guys are pretty smart...," Barkner grinned back at the Kokiri, showing his full row of healthy teeth. "Not hard ta see how ya both came this far!"

Link couldn't help but exchange a warm smile with the faceless body of his guardian fairy; though he could not witness it, her blue light shaded down to a warmer colour, as if to suggest a similar smile on her underside complexion.

"Okay... sorry for keeping us." The blonde boy smiled onward as he pulled himself up to his feet, dusting his tunic off. "We ready?"

Faster we go and get this done, faster I can go back home, he thought.

There was very little time to waste.

"Always!" Barkner shot back, thumping his two rocky fists at the ground to push himself back to a standing position. Briefly surprised by the sheer strength he seemed to command Link stared for a second before putting on a light smile and turning to press on forward.

"Well, let's hope there's no more surprises like that," Navi spoke up as she flitted in between the pair of adventurers. "I'd rather my heart not be in my mouth."

"Here's hopin'!" Barkner shot out with a laugh in response. Though he listened to them both, Link's smile soon dropped from his face in favour of an anxiety-replete frown.

Somehow, he thought, as the group entered through the next door ahead of them...

"I doubt it."

SLAM

Even as the door slammed shut behind them, he instinctively snapped his head 'round to widen his oceanic eyes at the iron bars that now accompanied the door to the party's rear.

Oh no, he thought, panic soon re-gripping his youthful body.

"What the-?" Barkner muttered, narrowing his eyes at the revelation before turning his eyes across their new surroundings; what seemed to be a multitude of platforms lay scattered about the area. A huge pillar lay in the centre and a lava-bed of rock, fire and brimstone lay beneath and around the platforms, effectively creating what looked to be a well-designed snare. The negative side of Link's brain began to niggle at him relentlessly and, rising temperature or not, he was beginning to sweat.

This was a trap, he thought.

Almost as if reading his very contemplation, a pair of humanoid-shaped creatures suddenly descended down from the very sky. Holding back a gasp, Link's eyes widened for the second time since entering the arena and they darted between the pair before him.

Similarly lizard-shaped to the Dodongos, these creatures were tall instead of broad. Both carrying small-swords and wearing what seemed to be plates of armour around their shoulder and midriff, the two dinosaurs eyed the group of three hungrily.

"Lizalfos!" Navi called out; the little blue fairy instinctively flew back in retreat to hide behind the pair similarly behind her. "Be careful!"

"Hah!" Barkner shot out with, cracking his rocky knuckles and cricking his neck to the side in excitement. "I been waitin' for a moment like this!"

The contrasting Link however unsheathed his Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield much more reluctantly, frowning forward and furrowing his brow.

A horrible feeling crept and washed over his body when he felt a feeling of foreboding pass through him.

The same kind of feeling he felt twice before; once in the Great Deku Tree's insides... and again...

… in Hyrule Castle's courtyard.


	13. Striving for Victory

Chapter 13: Striving for Victory  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Breakthrough" - Dynasty Warriors V OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"Settling the Score" - Goldeneye (1995). Scene 2 (First Half).  
"Vegeta's Theme" - Dragonball Super Butouden III OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).

\--

In accepting Barkner and Darunia's requests to venture forth into Death Mountain's Dodongo Cavern and rid it of the Dodongo infestation, Link and his ever trusty companion Navi push forward to carry out their new challenging task. In spite of Link's inwardly growing worries and anxieties, Barkner's strength as a Goron and Navi's knowledge as his guardian fairy gladdens his heavy heart.

Having pressed on inside, the party of three soon encounter many surprising things; one, a dead skull of what seems to be a former Dodongo king and a number of baby Dodongos themselves. Indeed, they are formidable and frightening combatants undoubtedly. In utilising evasion techniques taught to him by his last mentor, Impa of the Sheikah, Link manages to narrowly avoid a head-on collision with explosive larva Dodongo. Using flashing Deku Nuts to cover their escape, the party of three manage to flee under cover of white light.

It is now however that their mettle shall be truly tested; in their daring getaway Link, Navi and Barkner press on only to find themselves trapped. A door shuts behind the adventuring trio and sends proverbial chills up the young Kokiri's spine; seemingly revealed to be the cause of it, two lizard-like creatures descend from the skies and into their new battle arena, an unstable group of platforms surrounded by molten ground and lava.

Familiar stirrings that plagued the boy's feelings now converge and soon make the youth realise.

His misery is not over yet.

\--

Scene 1

Eyeing his new opponents, – a pair of 'Lizalfos', so dubbed by his guardian fairy – Link narrowed his blue eyes firmly at the pair. With a successful defensive perimeter, the two lizards surrounded the young Kokiri and his two companions, scanning the trio hungrily.

"There are only two of them...," Navi opted to throw in between the hard-frowning Link and the light-grinning Barkner. "I'm sure if we split them up and engage them one by one-?"

"Divide and conquer!" The large Goron grinned next to the forest-dwelling two beside him, smashing his fist roughly into his open left palm in synchronisation with his sentence. A similarly ravenous craving lay in the beaming Barkner's eyes as he watched his presumable opponent watch him in a comparable glare. "Just like the world's greatest soldier once said!"

Unsure on his new companion's words' origins, Link opted merely to briefly eye the smirking Barkner before returning his eyesight to the Lizalfos surveying him carefully. Gulping down a load of anxious saliva, the blonde-boy readied his nerves in case of a sudden assault.

"Okay, so how we doin' this? Split up and take 'em both out?" Barkner suggested over his shoulder in his light smile as he turned his eyes down on the smaller pair on his right. Briefly surprised, Link rose his straw-shaded eyebrows up to face him concisely before soon returning a look on the seeming brains of their operation; the little blue fairy between the two warriors.

"That seems to be the best course of action... but-"

"All right!" Barkner suddenly shot out with, slamming his rocky fist roughly into his left palm a second time in display of his rising morale. "Then let's do this!" He began before soon turning an excited grin on the wide-eyed Link. "Don't hold back little bro! Give 'em all you got!"

With that, the Goron leapt forward; with impressive agility Link did not know he had, Barkner managed to close the gap easily and approached the Lizalfos on the far-left, an excited grin upon his face.

"You'll be okay?"

Link couldn't help but blink in pure confusion, swivelling his eyes upward to his top-left only to find the brightly blue fairy Navi staring back down at him.

"W-Wha-?"

"I have to make sure that Barkner doesn't end up being too reckless," the little pixie argued softly, a frown in her tone. Link's eyebrows rose up when he realised her intentions in leaving him. "Will you be okay in my absence?" She repeated this time.

Forcing a light smile, Link merely nodded back at her.

"Okay...," she began, nodding her little body back at him as she fluttered her wings. "Shout on me if you need me!"

With that, the little blue orb flew off in search of accompanying their new Goron companion. Left now truly alone, Link about-turned to face the growling last Lizalfos left before him, a hard frown on his face.

Believe in your training, he thought.

Believe.

~

SCREECH

Having closed the gap between them, Link rose his Deku Shield up with his right arm to block the Lizalfos' ear-rending scream. With a narrow of his eyes the youth from the woods managed to sharply leap to his right in deft evasion when he watched the Lizalfos reach back with its sword-arm to attack. Time seemed to slow down for the pair; the lizard eyed him in pursuit as it shot its small-sword vertically across the air in which he once stood in and Link skid across the platform he and his opponent resided. Link felt the raging-hot waterfall of molten lava behind him burn briefly behind him and he couldn't help but gasp from the effort it managed to exude from him.

I have to finish this very soon, he thought.

Or the environment will cause a huge problem down the road.

Almost as if acting on his very thoughts, the screaming Lizalfos leapt forward; with incredible agility and strength in its legs, it managed to bound in a forward-flip, aiming its small-sword skyward. Widening his eyes up at his fast descending enemy, Link foolishly decided to shoot his Deku Shield up in defence to block the incoming plunging attack.

SMASH

When he felt the impact, the sheer strength with which the Lizalfos commanded managed to make him widen his eyes in pure shock; with enough collision, Link was forced backward to veer off the edge of the platform they used to battle on. Barely able to keep his footing, his oceanic eyes widened in terror when he briefly eyed the lava-bed beneath him. The Lizalfos, acting on its momentum, screeched a second time in his face as it spun its tail to successfully slap the wide-eyed youth.

"Gagh...!"

The strike caused him to shut his widened eyes very briefly before soon re-opening them to watch the red-hot crimson of the cavernous sky above him.

"No!"

Realising he was very quickly descending to his death, the boy gasped as he used his shield-arm to grasp at the third platform behind him. Eyes widening a second time but this time in effort, Link grunted as he pushed his Aegir off of it.

ZOOM

With an agile somersault forward, the young Kokiri bounded toward the large pillar in between the group of fighters; the Lizalfos watched him in pure bewilderment, unable to conjure up a response in the unlikely situation. Narrowing his sky-blue eyes, Link wasted no time in pushing his body a second time, arrowing toward the shock-expressed Lizalfos.

SLICE

Gritting his teeth as he whizzed past the monster on his right, Link shot through the air and landed in a deft skid forward, his Kokiri Sword viciously cleaving the lizard's undefended right side. Time slowed down for the second time for the two and, as he passed, blue blood from the creature came spilling out in gelatinous globs, staining the otherwise firmly hot-red surface they fought on.

With a pain-rending screech, the Lizalfos turned its head skyward to voice its rage at being caught off-guard by the speedy youth before soon snapping its scaly head 'round to glare at the recovered blonde. Similarly swerving his eyes 'round to catch the now pursuing lizard, the wide-eyed Link spun his body around to block the incoming overhead with his own sword.

CLANG

Again the youngster found himself on the defensive; as the Lizalfos pressed down heavily with its larger blade Link found himself grunting in effort as he fell slowly, but surely, to the ground and the lava-bed beneath him. Thinking quickly however and utilising his seeming advantage in speed, the young warrior shot his right leg across the ground in an attempt to sweep his opponent; the strike struck true and the Lizalfos yelped as it lost its footing, stumbling to the ground back the way it came.

Widening his eyes, Link spun around a second time conversely in offence before slamming the hilt of his Kokiri Sword directly into the stumbling Lizalfos' high chest. Uttering merely a low gasp from within its throat, the hostile monster's eyes widened as the colour around them began to thin out as if from the pain itself. Allowing the thrill of the battle to take hold of his rapidly rising morale, Link's eyes widened once again as he gave one final spin but this time utilising his weapon and shield with it.

"Come on!"

SLAM-HACK

The hopeful lad's offensive made successful contact and the Lizalfos gave out one last screech of pain as it was sent spinning hopeless through the air, its cobalt life-blood singing after it. Gasping from the effort Link dropped to one of his bare knees, both of his deceptively skinny arms still gripping at his adventuring tools. A smile slowly began to grace across his expression as he soon realised the seeming outcome of the once futile battle.

"I never had to rely on it..."

Just as he was warned not to, his morale began to rise once more as he realised he pushed through on his own merit.

The Lizalfos screeched a third time as it fell into the lava-bed beneath the platforms; it made what seemed to be tragic attempts to grab at the ledge and pull itself back up but with little success. Link lowered his sweaty blonde head as he gasped onward, catching his breath.

HOWL

The young Kokiri's eyes widened and a fresh dose of terror washed over him when he felt the blazing hot grip of what felt like a scaly, burning arm directly on his boot. Turning his eye-widened gaze downward he found the Lizalfos attempting to pull him in with it; desperately, he savagely kicked at the lizard's face. Eliciting a pained screech as a result of a mixture of the agonising flames and the seeming rage it felt, the Lizalfos managed to slam the ground in such a way that it flipped upwards. A lizard-shaped figure radiated bright fire crimson in mid-air as it very briefly hovered high before screaming angrily as it descended down to the wide-eyed youth.

SLAM

Igniting the very ground with which Link used to stand on, he gasped as he rolled in emergency evasion to his sharp-right. When he found the flames spreading and almost seemingly pursuing him, the little Kokiri opted to leap backward and toward the next platform, free of any flame. Unfortunately for the hopeful adventurer, he found the Lizalfos screeching on angrily after him, giving chase almost immediately. His small ears also managed to pick up what sounded to be a panicked shout from his far-off right and the other side of the battle arena; Link couldn't help but turn his sky-blue eyes 'round in response, realising the familiarity of the sound.

Was that Barkner's voice?

Something must have happened, he thought urgently.

"I have to get over there."

He only realised, too late however...

… that this was to be his greatest mistake.

Link's eyes widened and terror filled him when his eyes snapped to his left, barely catching sight of the burning Lizalfos leaping for him. Successfully pinning him down it screamed roughly and lividly in his face, its skin and body soon burning to a cinder. Urgency gripped him when he found himself unable to move and the flames from the flammable Lizalfos spread to his body. The Deku Shield in his grip easily burnt up and he instinctively let it go, eyes widened.

This was it, he thought.

This is how I die.

Numerous thoughts and memories flashed in and out of his mind before soon replacing them with horror and terror.

But one remained consistent and ever warm.

Saria.

"I'll miss you."

With that thought, the youth very gradually dropped any remaining force he had and slowly shut his eyes to match his fast-lowering morale.

Before the flames could spread any further however...

… his blue eyes re-opened to reveal a ravenous fiery-red.

–

2

"Be more careful!"

Navi's call made the grunting Barkner turn his head back up from examining the fresh slicing wound on his left arm; the Goron warrior narrowed his eyes at the circling Lizalfos ahead of him, watching him similarly attentively.

"I never thought it could seriously hurt me...," the adult male muttered in response as he glared back at the dinosaur-like creature before him. "You cheeky little-"

"Barkner, move!"

Called to action once more Barkner opted this time to listen; with wide-eyed surprise he back-dashed through the air, landing in a deft skid backward onto another platform. This one, however, was much smaller than the others he was so used to by now; when he realised how alarmingly narrow it truly was his anxiety and inward thoughts grew to match it.

Was the damn thing cornering me?

He grunted in a growling scowl, angry at having been out-thought by what he previously considered to be an inferior fighter and life-form in general.

He found himself very slowly backing away on the only platform left to him, his right hand gripping his bleeding left arm; a long and narrow walkway to a larger arena. Unfortunately however, as he turned his vision downward, his eyes widened in growing worry and terror.

Oh no, he thought.

This was its plan.

Below him lied what seemed to be a huge drop, a fog marring the air between the area he stood in and the area directly beneath.

His deep-blue eyes snapped 'round to glare back at the slow-approaching form of the Lizalfos; the Goron's morale, though very low, hit a combat-high and he yelled back at the dinosaur, readying himself for a second tussle.

"Come on! You ain't stoppin' me!"

In spite of Barkner's seemingly confident words, he sweated profusely.

And not because of the volcanic atmosphere.

Seemingly undeterred, the Lizalfos screeched back similarly inhospitably before soon pressing forward in a sudden bound. Barkner's eyes widened and he gasped as he swerved his body to the side, managing to successfully evade the hostile monster's side-swipe with its small-sword. Responding with a low-grunting knee, he narrowed his eyes as he sunk it heavily into the wheezing Lizalfos' lower stomach, sending it stumbling back a few steps. Acting on his hard-won momentum, Barkner widened his eyes as he savagely tore through the air with a crude but effective lariat.

SMASH-SCREECH

CLANG

Realising the Lizalfos dropped its only weapon, Barkner's anxiety grew when he felt its surprisingly stable grip stick to the left arm he used to previously attack with. The wide-eyed Goron soon realised the lizard's intention.

And I walked straight into it, he thought.

Just as he feared, the scowling monster pulled his large form over the edge of the platform they both stood on; seemingly a suicidal move, intent on killing them both. Acting quickly – and thinking just as hastily – Barkner used his remaining free right arm to grasp at the right edge of the platform he fell off of, eyes widened. Sweat dripped down his brow when he felt the screaming dinosaur infernally clawing at his left arm; the Goron shut one of his eyes and grunted in great physical agony, hanging by a mere thread.

I fall down there and it's all over, he thought.

"Barkner! Get up!"

In spite of Navi's call, the Goron warrior could do little but flail his left arm in a fruitless attempt to rid himself of his adversary. Its grasp was as resistant and fixed as ever and, as Barkner flailed his left arm further, his eyes widened when he felt it tear into his limb's flesh. He narrowed his eyes as he stared upward at the platform he held onto for dear life, attempting in unfortunate vain to pull himself back up. When he found his physical and even mental energy soon failing him, Barkner's breath caught within his throat as he shut his eyes and drowned out the noise around him. Navi's desperate pleas, the Lizalfos' livid screeches and the background noise of the volcanic atmosphere was muffled behind his thoughts.

CRACK

The horrifying sound – and feeling – of the surface he clasped broke in his fingers filled his ears and his terrified body. A veritable chill of dread ran up his spine when he realised what was about to happen.

"I'm gonna die here tonight."

CRACK-CRASH

Barely able even to open his mouth to utter a scream, his breath caught in his throat as if washed over by a sudden fall of water; the lizard aggravatingly gripping his left arm screamed for him as they both fell down the huge drop below. Time slowed down for Barkner as he dropped, his body very gradually reaching the misty portion of the drop; he couldn't help but watch the shaking form of Navi as she seemingly shouted on down after him. Her frantic appeals stayed muffled behind his ears, his right arm and hand reached out as if to grab the platform he dropped from.

He didn't even manage to catch sight of the grinning Link far-off above to his left on the platforms.

~

CLANG-SKRR

The newly reawakened second side of Link shot up his Kokiri Sword to block the burning Lizalfos' wild diagonal sword-slash, causing sparks to flare between them, merely adding fuel to the screaming lizard's body. Though the flame from its wounded body attempted a second time to spread to the toothy-smirking youth his intensely fiery-red aura of Aegir blocked it, batting it back just as quickly as it snaked down into it.

Chuckling lowly, the re-roused Link pushed back the Lizalfos' strike with his left arm in what seemed to be an effortless press; with strength and power in his defence, Link managed to bat the small-sword away from its infernal grip. With widened eyes, the creature stumbled back two steps before screeching bitterly back at the youth as it leapt in place in an acrobatic clockwise roundhouse spin of its tail. Link's burning eyes similarly widened briefly, almost as if expecting the attack somehow; utilising his free right arm he easily grabbed the monster's light but sharp appendage. Only when the Lizalfos witnessed its unfortunate results in a horror-filled gasp did it realise its mistake; the low-smirking Link narrowed his eyes back at his opponent before soon opening his mouth in a rising grin.

"Ikinu Tomete Kureru!" The boy yelled out, his demonic-toned voice echoing wildly against the inner chambers of the battle arena they fought in; with his similarly crazed facial expression, with little effort, managed to take the Lizalfos off its feet using its tail. Spinning in place, stray sparks of flame from its burning body began to fly off of it; Link gave out one final shout of effort as he collided the whimpering lizard's body into the pillar next to him.

SLAM-SMASH

Whether through Link's meteoric rise in Aegir and physical strength or by the pillar's design, it was seemingly easily crumbled as the Lizalfos was tossed into it; as a result, stray rocks and boulders soon dropped down atop the fallen creature. Admiring his handiwork, the newly demonic second side of the Kokiri youth stood in a low-brow smirk, a small part of the left side of his mouth lying open to reveal his similarly small fanged teeth.

A change in his earlier transformation.

Luckily for the Lizalfos, the dropping debris spared it from any further exposure to the lava-bed beneath the rubble however, this did little to ease its enraged mood; with yet another exasperated wail, the lizard used its own aura of Aegir to blow apart the wreckage that had fallen upon it. Shards of rock and fiery-earth flew at the standing form of Link, whizzing by his similarly burning air of Quintessence. The low-smirking Link did little to even avoid the missile-like debris flying past him, almost as if sensing the directions of them all with his strength of Aegir.

SCREECH

With another high-pitched battle cry, the Lizalfos leapt forward and attempted to assault him in an acrobatic dive-kick.

"HNGH!"

CRACK

Uttering a low battle cry of his own, Link's red eyes narrowed harshly as he suddenly shot his right knee upward to clash with the fast-approaching lizard-man. Time stopped for the fighting pair and the youth's fiery-blonde eyebrow shot upwards in half-curiosity, half-amusement; having mashed his own knee with his opponent's he felt the poor Lizalfos' foot moving out of place to match the sickening sound of it breaking. He couldn't help but chuckle lowly to himself as he lowered his knee to watch it screech in agony, dropping to the ground as it gripped its injured left foot vainly. Focusing his strength, the demonically powered youth rose his right leg skyward at an impossible angle; directly pointed toward the ceiling. Link's crimson eyes widened as he opened his mouth and fired his attacking limb downward in a deft half-moon spinning motion.

The axe kick technique.

"MESSATSU!"

SMASH-DROOM

As a result of Link's incredible upsurge in power, the platform in which the pair battled on was rent asunder; similar to the pillar before it, pieces of debris and rock flew in every opposite direction. When the smoke soon cleared however, Link's eyes widened when he noted that his opponent's dead body was no-where to be found in the wreckage he caused. Snapping his brow-furrowed scowl to his right he found the burnt form of the Lizalfos seemingly recovered and leaping at him a second time. Bending his small but fearsome body, Link managed to avoid the Lizalfos' leaping roundhouse swipe of its remaining uninjured right leg. This time he responded with the same technique he had used mere moments earlier; rising his own leg to meet his opponent's recovery, he widened his eyes.

"Die!"

BANG-CLICK

Genuinely surprised by the events that transpired, the demonic forest-youth could only widen his similarly purgatorial eyes as he witnessed the tenacious Lizalfos use its free arms to grasp at his left boot. His eyes soon narrowed however as the shock passed quickly only to be replaced by mild annoyance. As if to respond to him vocally however, the lizard-like creature screamed back at him, its saliva from its fierce mouth flying into his face. Pressing its razor-sharp teeth forward to bite at his extended leg, seemingly now a weak point, Link's eyes widened in unusual worry.

SQUELCH-SKRR

The youth let out an angry roar of pain as he felt the teeth tear through his flesh, drawing blood alarmingly easily. The Lizalfos uttered a low battle cry, its mouth filled with its opponent's life-juices, seemingly proud of its endeavour. Widening his eyes in his terrible demonic scowl, Link extended a push forward of his Aegir to send the Lizalfos stumbling back a step. Acting on the increment of momentum he gained, he spun around in an acrobatic spinning hop; with his remaining right leg the youth slammed it in a punishing roundhouse kick across the Lizalfos' face.

With a pained screech as it spun through the air, the bloodied and badly burnt creature flew slowly toward the wall behind it; the enraged and similarly satanic-expressed Link gave immediate pursuit when he recovered. Spinning the Kokiri Sword he carried in his superior left hand in a display of his great dexterity, the boy's body flew at an incredible rate. Easily overtaking the poor Lizalfos' speed, Link's eyes widened as he crashed his sword directly into the burnt monster's lower stomach, pinning it to the wall behind it.

SMASH-SQUELCH

The Lizalfos' eyes widened as it turned its vision skyward; blue-shaded blood flew from its body and onto its scowling opponent's face. Link turned his own red eyes up to face his fallen enemy and, noting the colour drain very slowly but surely from its eyes, soon grinned.

"Ore-no-koboshina-shioma-tometeru..."

With those ancient words uttered in a low-toned whisper, the youth grunted in effort as he yanked the blade from the body of his fallen enemy before using it to back-flip in recovery. Soon landing on the platform he half-destroyed, the newly reawakened boy watched the already burnt Lizalfos drop helplessly into the lava-bed beneath it, burnt alight even further.

A corner of his frown upturned into an amused smirk as a result.


	14. Stalemate's End

Chapter 14: Stalemate's End; Fight to the Death  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Brimstone & Fire (Round I)" - Tekken VII OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).  
"Brimstone & Fire (Round II)" - Tekken VII OST. Scene 4 (First Half).  
"Pause Menu Ambience" - Killer Instinct (2013) OST. Scene 4 (Second Half).

\--

Despair.

In their last agreed endeavour, Link, Navi and Barkner – a volunteer Goron – decided to take the mountain people leader's offer and clear the insides of the Dodongo Cavern. With little but assistance from the volunteer, Barkner, and knowledge from his guardian fairy Navi, Link and his party of adventurers manage to explore deep into the cavernous ruins indeed.

In their hopes to save the slowly but surely dying out race of the Gorons, the optimistic three press on so broad they soon find their path behind them blocked, having been led into a trap. Seemingly fleeing a herd of explosive baby Dodongo, the heroes enter what seems to be a battle arena filled with lava-beds and a very noticeable cliff, polished off with an intimidatingly high drop to match the scorching hot temperature. In their initial confusion Link, Navi and Barkner are sent forth two hostile Lizalfos – strange lizard-like humanoids – to deal with.

Though very confident in his adult male Goron strength, Barkner gets more than he seemingly bargained for in his duel; pushing him and Navi to the north end of the battle arena, the once upbeat and assured warrior finds himself taken off guard by the lizard's alarming strength. So much so that it manages to separate the trio by forcing Barkner off the edge and deep into the bowels of Dodongo's Cavern, joined only by the worried Navi.

Meanwhile having similarly been cornered by the second Lizalfos, Link attempts to fend off the livid and fearsome creature all on his lonesome. Though finding some success in utilising the great training gifted to him by his mentor Impa, the unfortunate Kokiri is pushed into a corner. Once more and, this time without the support of his companions, Link is driven into the demonic arms of his second side; a seemingly nameless mirrored reflection of himself rooted in the very Aegir and magic he himself possesses. Referred to by Hyrule's princess and her aide simply as 'Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai' – translated to as 'Essence of the Triforce' – this demon's physical, mental and spiritual strength all far outstrip Link's; a fact it has been keen to remind him of any chance it has been given to.

It is only now that, when separated, do the adventuring trio deal with Dodongo Cavern's horrors alone. Fearing the worst, Navi flies to Barkner's aid as quickly as she can in an attempt to save the seemingly dying Goron. Bereft of his guardian fairy, Link resides now in his demon's prison inside of his subconscious; he can now only watch in despair and anxiety as his body is being used to host the mysterious and hostile entity. In spite of all of this however, he remains confident only in one thing.

The dark entity's overwhelming and commanding use in its ancient and eldritch power.

\--

Scene 1

"Wake up!"

Barkner gasped, his eyes widening.

That voice, so familiar yet so soft and high-pitched.

His vision slowly began to stabilise alongside the foggy volcanic atmosphere around them.

Where am I, he thought.

His memories soon began to return to him and all at once when he realised he was inside the Dodongo's Cavern. He grunted in physical agony as he attempted to sit up, wincing at the burn marks all along his right side and left arm. Catching sight of a blue light flitting wildly to his sharp-left, Barkner double-took in a surprised frown only to find a surprising sight indeed.

A little blue fairy gasped as it flew in and out of a screeching Lizalfos' oily grasp.

Barkner immediately realised the situation and, pulling his agony-filled body to his feet, he leapt to the fairy's aid. Beginning a low battle cry he uttered a yell within his throat as he pulled back his superior right arm and then tossed it forward, fist outstretched. Timing his sudden assault well, the Lizalfos couldn't help but to gasp in surprise as it snapped its cat-like eyes in his direction. Unable to move in time to evade the worrying strike, Barkner's fearsome attack managed to connect.

SMASH

A fierce haymaker sent the gasping Lizalfos spinning through the air before soon landing on one of the lava-beds beneath the red platform they stood on. Barkner narrowed his dark-blue eyes as he similarly gasped from the effort, lowering his body as he did so; the pained Lizalfos could only shriek continually as the intense fire-bed beneath burned the creature alive. Though it attempted to leap back up to the platform to safety incessantly, its weakened legs from the earlier fall were its unfortunate undoing.

Satisfied with the results of his urgent rescue, Barkner gasped a final time as he lay back to sit back down down on the warm but not intolerable platform he stood on. Navi, flitting above him, soon began to settle down as she watched the previously hostile Lizalfos burn.

~

"Thank you... Barkner..."

"Don't... sweat it...," the Goron replied back as he turned his eyes and his rocky head skyward, raising a curious eyebrow. "How'd you know where I was anyway?"

"I was worried you'd...," she trailed off very lightly as she turned her cerulean light down to face him briefly. "You know..."

"So was I." Barkner couldn't help but laugh in response; a good-natured tone that belied the genuine concern he had for himself.

I was so sure I was dead, he thought.

Better not to bring that up.

"Do you know where we are Barkner?" Navi asked as she turned her blue light on the lower battle arena they now resided in, an unsure frown in her tone of voice. The Goron swivelled his own surprised frown up to his companion, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, sorry," he answered, scanning the area they rested in. "I've only ever been so deep into these caverns; just to pull back food and stuff," he explained briefly as he grunted in attempting to stand using his burned knees. "This place looks just like above..." The Goron murmured noticeably, turning his curious gaze skyward; as he did, his thoughts soon began to wander onto their one missing companion. Almost as if sensing his very thoughts, Navi spoke up for him.

"I hope Link's okay...," the little pixie spoke softly, her own light focusing upward also. "He had to fight that thing all on his own."

"He's a tough little guy, for sure," Barkner chuckled good-heartedly as he dusted himself off, finally having caught his breath. Walking over to join the guardian fairy he soon hopped over to the next platform in a light grunt before re-opening his mouth to continue. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I... I hope so..."

Barkner raised a curious eyebrow at the little fairy's unsure and worried tone as he passed her. Heading directly for the main door, presumably the exit, he revolved his head around to re-face her briefly, voicing a response.

"What makes you so worried anyhow?"

The quiet Navi hovered very slowly next to him as he walked, her cerulean light illuminating the otherwise intense, red-hot arena.

"I was told that... there's a second side to him."

That made the marching Barkner stop.

Rising both his eyebrows this time in surprise he turned his full body to match his level of disconcert.

"'Second side'...?" He retorted, contorting his face in a light wondering scrunch as he did so.

"Um... yes...," Navi began in reply, her tone similarly unsure, perhaps of how to proceed. "The princess' training aide also trained him in preparation of approaching your city," she explained succinctly before soon elaborating further. "In their duel he started to... change..."

"What do you mean 'change'?" Barkner asked, his eyes narrowing for clarification. "Can't have been that much?"

"It was... a lot," Navi whispered; suddenly the dense Goron realised the gravity with which she spoke and the atmosphere around them was only intensified by it. "He... he looks the same... but he's not the same person."

"Well... what's changed about him?"

"His whole personality," the guardian fairy quickly responded with before soon re-opening her mouth to continue. "He becomes a completely different person... powerful... destructive... even cruel."

Barkner couldn't help but blink back at Navi in honest confusion.

He couldn't even imagine Link in any sense near those three terms.

The idea was almost laughable.

"Impa told me... that... the only thing that can snap him out of it..."

Barkner tuned in, genuinely curious and invested into the conversation; he leant forward, eyes narrowed as he listened.

"Is me." The guardian fairy admitted, her tone soft and a frown in her words. The listening Goron could only blink back cluelessly once more.

"W-Wha-?"

"I'm not sure why...," she began again, hovering further down as she re-explained. "But there's something in my light as a guardian fairy that shuts down any aggressive feelings within his Aegir."

"Ohhh...," Barkner murmured back out, nodding in his understanding. "Y'think he's in this... 'second side' of himself right now?"

"I definitely hope not...," Navi murmured out as she re-faced him. "I don't like the idea of him being out there like that on his own."

"Me neither...," Barkner admitted honestly in a low murmur of his own, re-facing the front. This time he squared his shoulders and set his head high as he narrowed his eyes at the large door before the pair of adventurers. "Come on! Let's go find out!"

–

2

He floated back, continuously and unendingly. Almost as if the blank and black expanse around him was water somehow. It was only when he realised he was somewhat conscious that his eyes opened.

Link gasped, his eyebrows rising up with his surprise. He shot his head up, scanning his current surroundings.

A black abyss, as far as the eye could see.

Where am I, he thought.

When he noticed his voice seemed to echo and how the expanse seemed to go on forever, he made the assumption he was unconscious.

"So am I in my own consciousness...?"

"Ore-no-koboshina-shioma-tometeru..."

Link gasped, recognising the sound of the deeper voice echoing from within the chamber of his subconscious. As if in response to it, the sky above the floating youth began to form and materialise what seemed to be a screen of all things.

What's happening, he thought curiously.

A scene began to form before him and he widened his oceanic eyes at it; as it gave shape, he soon began to work it all out, finding the background at least familiar. Around appeared to be a fiery-hot battle-arena filled with platforms.

The Dodongo's Cavern.

That's right, he thought; I was battling those Lizalfos and then...

His eyes widened in realisation.

As if sensing his very thoughts, the figures in front of him at last took shape; a pained and badly burnt Lizalfos lay pinned to the reddened wall behind it, seemingly by a blade of sorts. When Link quickly surveyed the weapon he found it familiar indeed.

That's my Kokiri Sword, he thought.

He soon realised who was carrying it.

Atop the lizard's form and seemingly affixing the commanding force atop to pin the creature, the second side of himself hovered very carefully in form. A grinning side of Link caked in a fiery-hot red aura of Aegir lay in mid-air, his boots affixed to the bloody-blue Lizalfos' body. Seemingly finished with his ending assault however, he pulled the Kokiri Sword loose from the creature's already injured body before soon back-flipping to safety.

SQUELCH

The look on the blonde youth's face sent a chill up the spectating Link's spine; a look of pure unadulterated enjoyment and satisfaction.

Almost as if by merely watching his opponent fall to its death was satisfaction enough.

That can't be me, he thought.

"Indeed... for I am not you... little Link."

The listening Kokiri could only widen his eyes in another bout of surprise when he found himself being addressed.

I know that voice, he thought.

It's... him.

"Call me... Kage Narumono."

"K-Kage...?" He repeated, turning his eyes around the endless ebony before him, as if for confirmation. He struggled to reach into the memories of the ancient Hylian language that Impa taught him some of. "As in... 'shadow'...?"

"Correct..."

Link frowned in response to the odd presence's commanding and confident tone.

What did it mean exactly?

"W-What happened to Navi? And Barkner?"

"Those two...?" Kage's voice reverberated in retort; Link watched him take control of the physical body they shared together expertly. About-turning to face what seemed to be the far-off exit, a door, he began to slowly approach it. "We have far more important things to be doing... don't you think...?"

"W-What do you-?"

"We will rid this cavern of its infestation... but only for one purpose."

Link remained silent, his brow furrowing as he listened in half-curiosity.

A corner of Kage's mouth up-turned into a dark and toothy smirk. "Absolute annihilation – 'Messatsu' – is the only acceptable fate for these rats."

Just like Impa-sensei once warned me, Link thought in a worried gulp.

This second side of himself was an overwhelmingly violent one.

"And then... once those wretched Dodongo are snuffed..."

Link's eyebrows rose up in recognition of the direction the conversation was going.

Oh no, he thought.

"Those Gorons...," Kage began forebodingly, a demonic-echoing chuckle in his tone. "My fists... crave for their blood!"

I have to regain control before that happens, he thought.

But... how?

~

Kage Narumono's sinister cheer was not at all cowed by his host's seemingly disturbed attitude in response to his words.

Power, he thought.

"Power is everything..."

His words and his voice, both so deep and carried with a demonic-like quality, bounced off the walls of the similarly dark corridor he sauntered through.

"With the power... I have attained...," the divine-like entity spoke lowly, raising up its aura-infused fist upward as it did, fingers open and palm facing him. The grin he carried widened as he closed his fingers together into a bold looking fist. "These rats are just the first step... on my path to god-hood."

His deepened and devil-like words echoed throughout the dark-brown shaded chamber he emerged from. Crimson eyes narrowing at a similarly infernal ring of fire that lay before him; an obvious obstacle to be overcome. When he shot his blonde head up to the top wall he found a peculiar looking open eye lock and couldn't help but grin when he realised its intent. Though Kage fingered the wooden slingshot laying on his other side's belt ultimately he decided to take his grip from it.

"Only weaklings do not rely on their own strength..."

With those words he turned his superior smirk upward to face the open-eye lock before soon narrowing his eyes; as if by magic, a flash of light emitted from him. As if in response, the eye-lock above almost immediately closed, seemingly having been interacted with.

"Keh...," He laughed lowly at first before soon re-opening his mouth to continue as he leapt over the platforms. "Wakanika... Kori-najkarada..." Kage spoke the ancient Hylian tongue softly but also roughly in a low and demonic tone.

'Now you see... this is true power'.

Stepping through the next darkened corridor he soon spied a large brown treasure chest and rose a blonde eyebrow on up at it curiously.

Strange, he thought.

I thought I had gotten most of everything from this cesspit?

"Oh well..." He chuckled lowly before climbing his small frame up to reach it; soon standing before it he used his very Aegir to open up the front of it. Though a contrastingly bright golden light shone from inside of it, Kage soon lightly poked his right index finger upward. As if in response, a firm-coated and dark-brown bag of all things floated up via use of the demonic figure's powerful Quintessence.

Kage stared at it oddly, unsure of how to react.

Is this a bomb bag he thought in initial bewilderment.

"Huh..." He murmured lowly before lightly tugging his fingers toward himself to pull the bag toward himself. Opening it he raised another eyebrow at the contents.

Twenty bombs.

Handy to have, I suppose, he thought.

But those who would rely on it for survival...

"Yowai..." Kage muttered lowly through his toothy smirk, darkness closing around the only single shining glint within his demonic-like fangs.

–

3

BOOM

"What the hell?" Barkner gasped out mid-march, eyes widened; the sudden noise accompanied with an ominous low rumbling made him suddenly about-turn in frantic search.

"Yeah, I heard it too," Navi frowned out quietly as she turned back to face her new charge. "It came from up ahead."

Turning his body back to face the guardian fairy, his rocky brow furrowed to match the dark-blue shaded floor they stood on. "The entrance...?"

"Yes, I think so."

Silence.

Only then did Barkner realise the meaning.

Almost as if sensing his very thoughts Navi spoke up once more.

"I don't know if it's him though...," the little blue fairy claimed in an unsure frown. "I mean... could be anything..."

"But it could be-"

BOOM

"Ack...!" The gasping Goron managed out, almost losing his footing from the sudden second rumble.

"Another one...?!" Navi similarly inhaled in a shocked tone, swivelling her light on the large door before them, presumably leading back toward the exit on the low level.

"It's him... it's gotta be him...," Barkner began again as he regained control of his footing, eyes narrowing forward. Racing ahead to the door he opened it up and listened to it shoot down behind him. "It's Link!"

"Barkner wait!"

DROOM

The door shut loudly behind him; Navi just barely managing to catch up. She gasped from the effort at flying faster than she thought she could have, turning her annoyed frown on the similar-faced Goron next to her.

"Don't do that!" The little fairy insisted, her tone angry and miffed with her companion. "You're far too reckless! You could stand to learn a thing or two from him..."

"You really think so huh," Barkner couldn't help but throw into the conversation with a light grin as he eyed the blue ball of light to his top left before soon turning his eyes forward to match the new hardened frown on his face. "I think he's got way more fire in there than you think."

"Wha-?"

Before Navi could question him further she widened her eyes beneath her luminous glow when she traced his own eyesight, only to find him staring directly at the huge deceased Dodongo king head. Having led themselves straight to the entrance of the deep cavern, the pair found themselves staring at one main difference that initially surprised them both; the once intimidating form of the skull at the centre of the room's eyes were now lit up in a deep fiery-crimson.

If it didn't look scary before it looked downright terrifying now.

But the question remained, Barkner thought...

How did it become that way?

"Maybe you're right...," Navi spoke up, breaking the pair out of their reverie. "Maybe that noise was Link..."

"Huh..." Barkner murmured back, his eyes darting across the area; a Beamos statue stood threateningly, its oppressive eye rotating endlessly as if in search for intruders. Further up, the Dodongo king's skull head seemed to slowly open up; the Goron's eyes widened.

I can't believe it, he thought.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

DROOM

The mouth to the skull-head made a deafening grumble as it hit the marshy ground beneath it. Barkner's eyes widened as he watched, shocked and all; they darted in response to sudden movement at the top however.

Catching the sight of what seemed to be a very long bridge indeed, a green-clothed blur dropped down to land on the skull-head that he found so interesting. Barkner's eyes widened a second time when he seemed to note the long green hat and the curtained blonde hair upon the figure's person; all familiar.

Is that him?

When he found him dropping down further to pace very calmly into the opened dungeon, the Goron couldn't help but break forward into an urgent run.

"B-Barkner! No, wait!"

He ignored Navi's loud pleading behind him.

Have to catch up, he thought.

Barely leaping over the obstacles left for him in the disappearing Link's wake, he also side-stepped the range of the Beamos to avoid another engagement before continuing his earlier pace. He felt bad about leaving Navi to catch up and locked behind the rising and shutting tall door...

But she'd forgive him in the end.

~

Barkner gasped as he felt the tall door behind him slam shut. In the small antechamber the Goron frowned as he turned his eye around in search for the missing Link; finding only a second antechamber dead ahead and far-off from him as well as the entrance to a new area, he merely pressed forward in a light jog. His eyes double-took however when he caught movement to his lower left as he entered.

There he was.

The small frame that was Link walked slowly toward the tall iron door in the west side of the arena.

"Yo, Link!"

He reacted almost immediately.

His small and pointed ears perked up very sensitively in the large Goron's direction; Barkner couldn't help but put on a smile when the blonde youth about-turned to face him. In a friendly grin, the Goron hopped down and began to pace over toward his much-missed companion.

"Not a scratch on ya!" He chuckled incredulously, shaking his rocky head as he approached; he couldn't help but turn his eye on the stone squares in the centre of the room. Directly in the middle lay what seemed to be a large block. He narrowed his eyes down at it and noted the strange symbol on it.

Was it a switch of some kind?

"How you been doin'?" The Goron smiled as he turned his eye back on his companion.

They soon widened however when he caught a full look at the new Link.

The young Kokiri stared back at him, body leant to the side. An odd look in his eye made the Goron's bumps on his back stand on end.

They weren't the normal cerulean he remembered; they were a deep, dark red.

Almost hell-like.

Suddenly his memories of his conversation with Navi came rushing back to him.

"He... he looks the same... but he's not the same person."

"You're not... Link..." Barkner realised horrifically in a hardened, narrow eyed frown; his cheer gone, only to be replaced by a suspicious anxiety. The look on the imposter's small face turned up in a low smirk, almost as if to agree silently with him. A chill ran up Barkner's spine when he realised the oppressive atmosphere in the air.

He means to fight me, he thought.

And this won't just be a friendly spar.

"Easy now...," Barkner spoke softly but firmly as he backed a cautious step away, eyes watching the low-smirking deceiver before him in case of sudden movement. "I don't want to fight you... not like you do..."

The leaning imposter merely watched him silently and menacingly; finally however he broke the tension and even upped it by taking a very slow step forward. Almost as if in response, a very slight aura of fiery-red Aegir began to encircle his small form.

Oh no, Barkner thought.

Here we go.

"W-Who are you...?" The Goron muttered back, taking similarly slow steps back in response, raising his head in a growing fear of the maddened aura the possessed boy exuded. "That isn't your body! You gotta give him it back!"

"Shin'ozo... Tomete Kureru."

The imposter's words, so surprisingly low and demonic, made the listening Barkner blink in shock.

What did he say?

"W-Wha-?"

"Violence...," the nameless possessor spoke within Link's body, beginning his response as he briefly halted his march to narrow his blood-red eyes at the Goron ravenously. "Is who I am..." He finally finished, his low frown very slowly curling into a knowing smirk.

Barkner could only stare back at the grinning youth and the chilling aura he exuded, his breathing quickening with the similarly fast pace of his heart.

Maybe I really should have waited for Navi, he thought.

"Call me... Kage."

Listening to him speak once more, he rose his eyebrows in response to the boy's satanical tone of voice.

Kage...?

"What the hell is a Kage?"

In spite of his inward thoughts however, the low-smirking youth suddenly disappeared; an after-image of the boy's sudden toothy grin made the watching Barkner widen his eyes.

Where-?

–

4

A portal of some strange kind, seemingly opened by Quintessence itself, opened up directly above the gasping Barkner. He snapped his head skyward and suddenly widened his eyes to catch the laughing Kage plummeting down directly from the portal itself.

"Hnh...!" Barkner uttered in effort, suddenly forcing his body in a forward leap. Unfortunately not quite as agile as he'd wish he was, the poor Goron found himself falling to his frontal chest, grunting as he skid slowly forward on the stone and sandy ground. Hot on his evasive tail was the laughing imposter behind him; widening his eyes a second time, Barkner grunted in effort as he grasped at the ground with his fingers before soon pushing down on it as hard as he could in a deft forward flip.

Skidding across the ground in a growling sweep with his low roundhouse, Kage snapped his head up only to widen his own eyes when he shot out his Kokiri Sword to defend with.

CLANG-SKRRRRRR

Kage glared hatefully back at the rough scowl on Barkner's face, their eyes' glower passing through the endless sparks their sudden colliding caused. Unfortunately for the youth however, the Goron's strength seemed to outstrip the demonic-infused Aegir Kage commanded and, sensing this, his low growl slowly escalated into a hate-filled scowling shout.

"Nanda-ko?!"

CLANG

Just barely managing to save himself from the full force of Barkner's plunging attack with his sword, it was sent spinning off from his grip; the possessed youth stumbled back two steps using his free right hand to grip at his left. He snapped his toothy scowling frown up in a surprised gasp to find his uncurling opponent pressing forward in a wide-eyed offence. Barkner glared back at the shock-faced Kage as he pulled back his widest haymaker to attack with, breathing in deeply as he did.

"HNGH!"

SMASH

Unable to react in time, Kage yelled angrily in a mixture of pain, shock and anger as he was sent spiralling through the air. His crimson-infused body crashed noisily against the wall behind him and he grunted as he did before soon widening his eyes; recovering by using his Aegir to attach himself to the very wall he was tossed to he began to scowl again as he started to use it as a foothold to run on. Barkner narrowed his eyes in desperate search for the fast-running form of his opponent; barely managing to catch a slight twitch of Aegir across the walls, he very briefly spied the scowling and openly glaring Kage.

Seemingly moving like an animal, Kage's form was that of a beast; with all fours on the very wall he stuck to using his Aegir he watched the Goron hungrily as he passed him endlessly. Eventually, however, the possessed blonde growled lowly as he bounded up off the wall to missile down in his own plunging attack. Barkner's eyes widened and, acting on instinct, the Goron grunted as he lowered his form in a defensive crawl; the rocky bumps on his back soon shot upward, protruding defensively.

CRASH-CRACK

Finding his elongated claws and Aegir shield broken by the very defensive strength Barkner's technique possessed, Kage yowled in initial pain before suddenly bounding backward in an evasive leap. Barkner gasped as he attempted in vain to grasp at the consumed boy's leg; he growled, his right eye twitching as he watched the slippery form of his small opponent. He tried to follow the super-fast Kage but, unsuccessful, he stood back up and narrowed his eyes to ready himself for the next inevitably charge. Though he waited, it never seemed to come.

Where the hell was he?

He felt the ground rumble and his eyebrows rose up in half-surprise.

"Wha-?"

His words echoed within the chamber he stood in before his attention was soon grabbed by the moving ground; he couldn't help but gasp when he found a rapid-moving mound, fast on the move for his current position.

Was that him?

Though he attempted to back-dash to safety, a second mound of dirt and rocks crawled swiftly behind him; Barkner could only gasp, his eyes snapping to his undefended rear in little time to save himself. The initial mound of dirt exploded where he once stood, spraying earth and stone high into the air while the second aimed for his recovery.

Oh no, he thought.

Just as he feared, the wide-eyed and terrifying scowling Kage exploded forth from the ground beneath in a spinning and Aegir-infused rising dragon-like punch, filling his attack with a single word.

SMASH

"METSU!"

"Rngh...!"

Caught off-guard, one of Barkner's eyes shut in immeasurable pain as Kage's fiery-red aura made contact; the burning sensation he was left with made him gasp in physical agony as he turned his fall into a curling up of his body to recover a second time.

RUMBLE

With an intense raise of speed, strength and dexterity, Barkner found himself rolling like a professional Goron racer; deftly and sharply turning to his right in an attempt to flank the wide-eyed, recovering Kage, he narrowed his eyes as he rolled endlessly. The rocks on his back soon protruded once more but, this time, elongated into full metal spikes; a frightening sight indeed. Along to go with it came a full aura of raging-hot fire to match the similarly volcanic aura that encapsulated his body. Kage's similarly flaming eyes widened in shock when he realised, in his recovery, he could do little to respond to it. The hard-eyed Barkner soon widened his eyes as he began to approach his enemy.

Hit him with enough force to wake him up.

"Now!"

CRASH

"ARRRGH!"

Along with Barkner's sudden morale-infused call came Kage's inevitable pained scream as he was struck savagely by the racing Goron; his body was sent spinning and spiralling through the air helplessly before smashing against the wall just above an entrance. Acting on instinct and his momentum, Barkner widened his eyes a second time in his assault before suddenly halting his advance by leaping upward for the finishing strike.

"All my strength...," he murmured out as he bounded upward in a surprisingly athletic bounce. Kage could only grunt in great physical agony as he dropped very slowly back down toward him; soon, he passed him, time slowing down for the pair. "In this one, final attack...," Barkner's words murmured and echoed lowly as he stared down at the aura-infused possessed boy falling beneath him. Finally, his own Quintessence charged up and his body buffed with physical and spiritual strength he plummeted down to end his assault. "Come on!"

DROOM-SMASH-CRASH

TINK-DRRRR

In spite of the incredible physical and magical strength Barkner imbued his fearsome plunging attack with, his eyes widened when he found himself endlessly spinning to finish it with, having caught himself on the wide-eyed Kage's defensive aura of Aegir.

Oh no, Barkner thought.

If I don't end this now...

I'm a dead man.

With that thought driving him on, he began a low-to-loud battle cry to raise his morale for what seemed to be his last minutes of life. As if in reaction, the defensively arm-crossed Kage's ugly scowl slowly up-turned into a knowing and low-chuckling smirk. Barkner's eyes widened as he spun endlessly, his grinning face burned into his Goron mind.

He knows I'm finished after this he thought.

I have to end this now!

"AAAAAAARRRGH!"

Opening his mouth and widening his eyes to match his desperate scream of war, Barkner put everything he had into his final assault and more; Kage's low growl indicated an increase of strength in his own Aegir to keep up. Eventually however, after what seemed to be an eternity of struggling, Barkner found his pace slowing and he gasped when he did; Kage's low smirk slowly revealed and returned to his face as he also took note.

Oh no, he thought.

"HNGH!"

With an effort-filled grunt, Kage's scowl returned in full-force as he expelled a surge of Aegir in a defensive response to push the spinning Barkner off of his form. Widening his eyes, Barkner could only watch as he spun in the air now, completely helpless.

This is it, he thought worriedly.

This is how I die.

With another grunt of effort, Kage leapt up and headbutted Barkner's own with tremendous force.

"Argh...!"

SMASH

The rolled up Goron was forced out of his formation as he was sent arrowing back to the ground, ricocheting painfully. As Kage landed however he followed up his finishing strike.

"OhhhhhHHH!" The possessed youth began, yanking his superior left arm back, presumably for an attack. "KESHITOBEE!"

CRASH-CRACK

SMASH

SMASH

With three spinning, almost dancing, punches across the face infused with his demonic Aegir, Kage caught the helpless and grunting Goron in a savage combo attack. In the third rise, the pair found themselves so far into the air, they could almost kiss the very ceiling above them. The area around them appeared to almost blacken, as if only Kage and Barkner existed in this small dimension; the demonic warrior shot up his attacking left arm upward and opened up his palm. As if in response, a satanic and hellish strength of Aegir and magic infused itself into his palm, ebony and flaming in colour.

Widening his eyes, Kage Narumono pulled his attacking arm back to finish the strike with, opening his mouth as he did so to speak the ancient Hylian words associated with it.

"Shītō Tomoni!" He began, his voice echoing out; time regained its flow and the devil-like warrior found himself descending down, arm at the ready for the finishing attack. Time for the falling Barkner however, began to slow down as he stared upward incapably, blood, bruises and other injuries covering his face and body. He couldn't help but put on a weak and saddened smile to his expression as he watched the youth spin around to face him hatefully, his heart tugging at his missing companions.

"I'm sorry... Navi...," the Goron managed out in a gasping whisper of effort; a single pair of tears stained his eyes as he spoke, his lower lip trembling. "I tried..."

"MESSEYO!"

DROOM

Colliding his dark-red infused fist with the pained Barkner's face the pair found themselves rocketing back down toward the ground; as they descended down at record pace, their bodies became filled with fire as if to suggest the sheer speed and danger with which they dropped. Eventually however they finally reached the ground.

CRASH

The sheer strength that Kage's satanic Aegir commanded managed to destroy the sandy and stone arena beneath them, opening up a full crater in response. Widening his eyes as they shone a bright, wicked red he gave the final blow by pushing his left fist one last stage in.

BURST-RUMBLE

The very ground itself opened up a second time in response to the divine-like power Kage possessed; it shook terribly and horribly, as if in fear of the abhorrently violent scowl upon the possessed boy's face. The arena – or what was left of it – slowly began to morph back into place; in spite of the new calm that washed over it, Kage kept his fist locked dead on the now fallen Barkner's corpse. This time however, instead of a closed-fingered fist, he opened it into a palm.

~

"Masaka...," he uttered lowly; another strength of Aegir began to flow through his palm, this one a purple shade in colour and seemingly even darker than before. "So... much... Aegir..." Kage's demonic voice echoed in a low, victorious chuckle; he grinned down at the fallen body of his deceased opponent as he shut his eyes slowly. Similarly gradually, what seemed to be a brown-shaded aura of Quintessence snaked out of Barkner's fallen body and into the shut-eyed frowning Kage's open palm.

In essence, he was plundering his defeated enemy's strength and adding it to his own.

"Hmph!"

Kage's eyes suddenly shot open wide as the trail of Aegir began to thin out; the effects showed on his now brunette-blonde hair and his new half-red, half-blue eye colour. Muscles began to show beneath the small frame of the Kokiri Tunic he wore and on his otherwise child-like legs and arms. Almost as if he were verily devouring the very form of Barkner himself, the poor Goron's corpse slowly vanished from material form as Kage's new physical structure took shape.

An odd period of silence descended down upon the devilish villain before a slow grin morphed on his young host's expression. His grin soon became the starting point to a low chuckle which, eventually, escalated into full-blown maniacal laughter; the demonic spirit grabbed his frontal chest with his superior left arm before growling lowly, as if in effort.

"Grrrngh...!" He began lowly, his laugh lowering to a frown. "Kore-wa-onozomi-da!" Kage Narumono exclaimed, his dark voice bouncing off the walls; he punctuated his finishing sentence with an effort-filled axe kick technique, swinging his left leg vertically up and downward to smash the ground where Barkner once rested.

'My potential has at last been realised'.

His laughing and maniacal open-fanged grin soon and slowly switched to a calmer, close-mouthed frown; Kage pulled his arms and legs back as he did so before deliberately rising his head upward to stare skyward.

All that is left, he thought.

Is the king.

With that thought, he grunted lowly as he pushed himself up off of the ground in a strong bound vertical, soon landing in a graceful but commanding scowl. Returning his hardened-eye gaze back to the tall iron door he was once heading toward before he was interrupted, Kage Narumono stepped forth to make the final challenge once more.

"Link! Barkner!"

Kage's eyebrows rose upward in a show of surprise; he turned his brunette-blonde frown to his left in the sudden noise's direction.

Toward the exit; Dodongo Cavern's entrance.

That sounded like...

… that boy's guardian fairy, he thought.

A malicious low-smirk began to darken his young host's form as he stared, turning his body around directly to wait and to face the little blue fairy as she approached.


	15. To Topple the King

Chapter 15: To Topple the King  
Starvation of the Mountain People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Dodongo Boss Battle" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 2 (First Half).  
"Boss Clear" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

Having managed to just barely survive an assault by two Lizalfos Link, Navi and Barkner are thus successfully separated by their efforts to do so. In Barkner's excursion he is overwhelmed by the lizard's speed and drops to the the lower level of the Dodongo's Cavern. Although things look bad for the volunteer Goron he manages to push the ugly dinosaur back and save himself and the guardian fairy that joins him, Navi.

Meanwhile, though confident in his new training from his mentor, the Sheikah attendant Impa, Link is pushed deftly into a corner by his opponent. In doing so he reveals his second side; a demonic and satanic-like presence that lives within him and his very magical energy. Giving claim to the name 'Kage Narumono', it easily makes the rest of the upper journey through the Dodongo's Cavern before ending inside King Dodongo's very lair itself./

It is here however that powers – and friendships – clash.

Pressing on ahead solely, Barkner soon comes into confrontation with the new demonic presence of Kage Narumono. Though he mistakes the possessed boy for his close companion Link he soon realises his error and begins to doubt himself for it. Kage, sensing Barkner's apprehension, uses the rare opportunity to stage a fight between the pair regardless of intent on challenging the cavern's master. In spite of his protests, Barkner fights for his very life; the poor Goron gives as much as he can to his ability, however, finds himself outmatched and outpaced by the devil-like warrior.

Though their struggle is indeed an explosive one with many twists and turns, Kage wastes little time in using the powers of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai that rests within him to pillage the rest of the poor fallen Barkner's strength. Seemingly now having been erased from existence itself, the party of three is now down to its original two, discounting the nefarious Kage Narumono. Only Link and his guardian fairy Navi remain in the elusive quest to assist the Gorons in saving their race from mass hunger.

Now, the pair are left on their own to defend against the wrath of the intimidating King Dodongo...

\--

Scene 1

Kage Narumono's eyes widened when he realised he wasn't awake.

Where am I, he thought.

He soon found himself floating on what seemed to be a liquid below him, similarly merely black in colour and shade. His half-red, half-blue eyes shot between the noticeable bars in the cell now constructed for him.

I'm inside that boy's consciousness, he thought.

How did he regain control so quickly?

His memory soon recalled the earlier events which led him to his fateful battle with Barkner just before he was about to confront the Dodongo king. Though he was successful in his endeavour, he tried to remember what happened after.

Recounting the Aegir he had managed to pilfer from the fallen Barkner into himself and his host's body he frowned.

So what happened?

"Why am I here...?" He thought aloud, his demonic voice echoing calmly across the walls of his subconscious.

Kage's eyes soon re-widened however when his memory at last caught up with his situation.

The sudden recollection of a bright blue ball of light made him realise.

It was the boy's guardian fairy.

Kage's frown ever so slowly darkened into an angry low scowl when, for the third time, he had been completely fooled and hadn't even realised it.

Until now.

He raised himself up from the seemingly infinite pool of colourless liquid that filled his host's subconscious, sitting up to glare forward past the bars of the cell he now sat in.

"The next time I am out...," the demonic-like figure began before narrowing his eyes threateningly and knowingly. "No fairy... will live my wrath..."

~

"I think it's... down there..."

Link nodded, eyeing the cracked ground Navi was clearly referring to.

In spite of their new-found teamwork and business-like exploration since re-meeting up mere minutes ago in the Dodongo skull; seemingly under control by his second side, he fought and defeated the poor fallen Goron Barkner. Following along after him was his ever trusty guardian fairy, Navi however and with it a revelation.

The light that Navi gave off, the very light she was blessed with by the Kokiri's Great Deku Tree, brought Link back from the brink inside of his subconscious. It would appear that the key to changing forms within the youth was in the salvation of the last gift the Great Deku Tree gave him.

I wonder if the Great Deku Tree knew this was going to happen, Link thought.

"Maybe that's why he sent her to me..."

It wouldn't surprise him.

In spite of her saving him from himself however, the awkward absence of their ever-cheerful and helpful Goron Barkner cut into their friendship like a blade through flesh.

Though Navi had obviously asked him where he was Link found himself unable to tell her.

Not honestly anyway.

What would I tell her, he thought.

"That I killed him as that murderous... thing...?"

The walk over to the cracked piece of ground was, as much of their journey had been before.

Full of awkward silence.

He narrowed his sky-blue eyes at the piece of ground before reaching into his tools for the bomb bag he had recently received. Pulling one out and lighting its fuse he placed it down before stepping back calmly, watching intently.

With this... the king lies below, he thought.

"It could be the fight of our lives..."

BOOM

CRUMBLE-CRUMBLE...

Watching the highly-explosive sphere blast apart the cracked ground in all directions, Link brought up his arms in a defensive cross to effectively shield himself from the debris. As expected a sizeable hole was prepared for the Kokiri youth and, as he stepped forward to view the damage, he put on a hardened frown as he peered down and over into the abyss.

The deep fiery-red lava-bed to the sharp-right of the hole below made him narrow his eyes a second time down at it.

Best not to fall in there, he thought.

He spied the safe dark-brown strip of ground directly below him and nodded at it in recognition.

"Looks as if that's our best course of action."

Sharing a semi-hesitant look with the onlooking Navi, Link very slowly turned back to staring down at what seemed to be his next battle arena.

The brunette-blonde boy gulped down a load of anxiety-filled saliva before breathing in and out similarly slowly.

I can do this, he thought.

Don't give in to that thing again.

With that thought he hopped forward in a hopeful bound, inevitably dropping downward. Placing his two muscled arms to his sides, his sky-blue eyes narrowed as he plunged down at a rapid pace. Eventually the youth reached the ground and, when he did, he found himself surprisingly still well-abled. Though he was confident in his training from his mentor Impa he had half-expected an injury at such a high drop.

"Or maybe it's the power Kage stole from Barkner..."

Opting not to give open voice to his negative thoughts, Link re-rose his head up to frown forward in search.

Where was the-?

POUND

Widening his eyes, the young warrior snapped his body 'round to re-narrow them as he discovered the source of the noise.

POUND

Link's deep-blue eyes widened once more however when he finally drank in the sight of what seemed to be his new enemy.

POUND... POUND... POUND... POUND... POUND...

A gargantuan dinosaur loomed its threatening shadow over the small-sized youth staring on up at it. Unlike its other brethren it possessed four legs instead of two and a monstrous detailed sharpened nail on each of them. Dotting its huge mouth with similarly razor-sharp teeth and two intimidatingly massive fangs on its lower jaw, it narrowed its teal eyes down at its intruder in a hostile nature as it made its final approach.

POUND

King Dodongo, now fully revealed and scowling hungrily down at him, opened its huge jaw and mouth up to cry out loudly in a war-cry.

ROAR

Link gasped, affixing his stance to assure he wouldn't fall from the sheer strength the king possessed in its mere scream. He couldn't help but drop his morale in its mere sighting.

"Goddesses... if you're up there... I could use a hand."

–

2

Infernal Dinosaur – King Dodongo

Affixing his stance a second time, Link was suddenly deathly aware that he carried only his Kokiri Sword.

That's right, he thought; my Deku Shield was incinerated in the fight with the Lizalfos.

"All I can count on now, is my Aegir."

Believe in your strengths, he thought.

Impa's words.

"Link! I don't think I should have to warn you...," Navi began as she floated down to join the hard-frowning youth, his clenched fists on either side of him. "But this thing's dangerous!"

"I know Navi...," Link responded as he glared forward at the slow-approaching form of his enemy, watching for weak spots. "I know." He repeated; numerous memories of his second side fighting with Barkner flashed through his mind.

There was more to fighting than just overpowering your opponent with size and strength; Kage Narumono proved it.

Though maybe that's a bad example, he thought.

The Aegir he possesses is of a hell-like origin.

So how will I beat this huge dinosaur? And on my own power?

No more shortcuts, he thought.

"Come on!" The little muscled Kokiri provoked with a forward shout, brow furrowing up at the loud-pounding king Dodongo. "I'm not scared of you!"

"You should be!" Navi squeaked in his ear, her voice full of urgency and anxiety. "Look, it's probably the same sort of beast as a normal Dodongo which means-"

"Attacks from the outside will bear no fruit..."

"But a shock from the inside will be successful!"

Navi's sudden reminder made the listening Link widen his eyes in surprise.

She was right.

"But how would I shock it from the-"

His thoughts were soon interrupted when his sky-blue eyes double-took in the north-east direction, far from his current position.

A Bomb Flower.

Of course, he thought.

"Guess you're good for one thing..." Link gave voice to his thoughts in a low-grinning murmur, referring to his second side's exploration of the insides of his opponent's lair.

"What?!"

Realising Navi misread what he was saying he shook his head in the annoyed blue fairy's direction.

"Nothing!" He answered before backing up a few steps, eyes watching the growling and threatening dinosaur before him. "I'm talking about the b-"

ROAR

Link grunted, raising up his arms to block himself against the Dodongo king's inevitable animal-like clamour. As it finished its thundering cry it slowly began to open its ravenous and huge mouth.

What's it doing, he thought.

Only when he felt the sudden pull of air did he realise.

It was about to prepare an attack of some kind!

Fire?!

"Link it's going to-!"

"I know!" He shot back similarly urgently over his shoulder, quickly returning his eyes to his enemy.

What should I do, he thought.

"Th-Those bombs! Use those!"

Navi's sudden and urgent call made him widen his eyes in her direction.

Soon he realised her intention for him to toss one of the explosive spheres directly into the dinosaur's suction-infused mouth.

Genius!

But too late; by now the king had finished pulling in air for its inevitable assault. Link narrowed his eyes and readied himself for what was coming.

As he had expected, the huge reptile-like creature finally brought its similarly humongous jaw down in a specific firing angle; Link's sky-blue eyes widened in realisation of its intention and to his growing horror there was very little room to move in evasion.

His panic taking hold of him he grunted as he used his Aegir to slam his boots off the ground, sending him sailing diagonally upward to his far-right. The young brunette-blonde turned his green-capped head to find a frighteningly large ball of flame shooting across the walkable ground beneath him. Passing just in time to avoid the threatening sphere of fire, Link gasped as he landed, eyes watching his enemy carefully; king Dodongo, in return, opted instead to curl its body before moving forward.

Was it rolling?

Of all things, Link could only watch stupefied.

"I've never seen a Dodongo do this..."

"Me neither..."

Navi's response reminded him of her presence; he turned briefly up to eye her before soon returning his hard-eyed gaze on the approaching dinosaur.

RUMBLE

The wall groaned as if in pain as the Dodongo's king slammed savagely into it; even the ground on which Link himself stood began to tremble. The little Kokiri managed to hold his footing, waiting for the inevitable follow-up attack it would attempt.

Just as he expected, it uncoiled itself and began to slowly pound toward him, eyes watching him hungrily.

"Wait for it..."

The final step it made signalled its follow-up; king Dodongo pulled its jaw back and began a second intake of air.

"Now!"

With that thought driving his morale on, Link rolled an unlit bomb from inside of his bomb bag before clicking his fingers with his unused left fingers; his Quintessence managed to light the fuse and, with it, he grunted as he tossed the explosive directly into its line of sight. The sound of its air-suction was soon cut-off very suddenly and, as he watched, the hopeful youth could only watch in widened eyes.

GULP

An odd period of silence descended down upon the pair of combatants before, finally, something happened.

BOOM

ROAR

Though very muffled, the sound of Link's bomb was as satisfying as ever; inside the great Dodongo king it blew and in its reaction, the dinosaur screamed out in pain as it dropped to the ground helpless.

"Now Link, now!"

Needing no further stimuli, the low-grinning Link yanked out his trusty Kokiri Sword and yelled in a battle cry as he spun around in a deft spinning-slash attack. The Dodongo king let one more clamour out before it coiled itself a second time; Link's blonde-brunette eyebrows rose up in recognition when he saw it move.

Acting on instinct, the young adventurer grunted as he used his Aegir to shoot directly upwards this time; using his agility and dexterity, he managed to flip his body upside down, landing his boots on the ceiling above him. Utilising a steady and careful flow of Quintessence, he managed to maintain his grip on the ceiling; he couldn't help but grin.

"If only Impa-sensei could see me now."

CRASH

The king's reckless rolling caused him to return his attention to the battle at hand; with narrowed blue eyes he snapped them down to catch the dinosaur unrolling itself back to a standing position.

If it can't reach me, he thought...

… Then what's it doing?

Almost as if reading his very thoughts, the growling reptile pulled back its mouth; another suction of air. Link's eyes widened in horror.

Oh no, he thought.

Move!

He severed his ties to the ceiling by halting the flow of his Aegir and just barely in time; as he dropped, a humongous ball of fire struck the ceiling where he once stood.

That was close, he thought.

Unfortunately for him however, it would appear either the Dodongo king was a bit more intelligent than its brethren or it was simply lucky for when the ball of fire hit the ceiling, it began to crumble away; harmful-sized boulders and rubble rushed down to meet his retreating form.

"Damn it!" He cursed half-angrily, half-worriedly; the blonde youth sheathed his weapon and reached down with his superior left hand. Catching the ground easily he grunted once again as he pushed up off the ground to bound upward in a graceful and evasive forward-flip. His eyes widened a final time however and his anxiety to match his incoming horror when he found his watching opponent opening its jaw wide in anticipation for the youth.

"Link, no!"

Navi's urgent call made him gasp but now, having jumped, he was running very quickly out of options.

"Truth be told I don't think I have any left..."

His negative, though not untrue thoughts, left him in a dire state indeed; with little options left the little Kokiri scrunched his eyes shut and slammed his left fist into his right palm. His sky-blue Aegir began to visibly charge from within, almost as if to form a shield of some kind.

Here it comes, he thought.

Just as he feared he dropped inside the mouth of his enemy.

GULP

"Link!"

Navi's horrified and tormented cry soon muffled as he entered the deep recesses of king Dodongo's throat.

~

Darkness.

The sound (and smell) of rancid insides made Link's head spin.

"Am I dead...?"

His low murmured voice echoed from within his own mind as he turned his vision around, seeing only blackness.

Last I remember I was ate by that beast, he thought.

How can I be alive?

"No..."

His low murmur; though quiet and very likely to himself, was powered by a growing resolve within.

"I can't give up..."

The boy's memory went back to his fallen companion Barkner and he couldn't help but feel responsible.

It wasn't me, he thought.

But it may as well have been.

He remembered watching the ill-fated duel between the two super-powers clash from his spot in his subconscious. Though he had silently cheered for his companion to win in the duel he knew exactly what that would have meant and found himself in great guilt to match his relief.

Watching Kage Narumono take Barkner's very life-force and Aegir from him directly was a horrifying sight indeed.

But it was that very strength with which Link theorised to use in order to escape from his situation.

"So you hate bombs... do you...?" The youth spoke to himself, directing his words toward his enemy however as he pulled himself up, frowning. In the great darkness he could see very little and so opted to slam his left fist into open right palm, shutting his eyes. In response, a bright aura of blue Aegir began to stir at his feet, growing into his body and the area he stood in. When it grew to a respectable size he re-opened his eyes and, reaching into the bomb bag hanging behind him on his inventory, he pulled out the explosive he had once mentioned and frowned down at it thoughtfully.

Here we go, he thought.

I could end up either killing myself...

Or saving myself.

"Either way... it's a risk I have to take."

Acting on the same principle he witnessed when watching Kage Narumono siphon off Barkner's Aegir Link shut his eyes and, beginning to concentrate, focused his Quintessence control on the sphere in his palm.

Don't do it like he did, he thought.

It's not an animate being; you're not stealing.

Just borrowing from an inanimate source of energy.

With those thoughts echoing through his calm mind he began to feel a response from inside of the unlit bomb. His eyebrows rose up in recognition.

It was happening!

He felt a surge of unknown Aegir enter through and mingle with his own.

That must have been the bomb's essence, just as he had intended.

Now for the easy part.

Re-opening his sky-blue eyes he shot up his superior left arm, opening a palm to the ceiling; as if in response, his normally cerulean coloured Aegir soon took a deep-ebony shading to match the colour of the bomb's energy he in-took. His body began to glow a very light shade of red – the sign of the explosive essence within him being lit.

Here we go, he thought.

"Focus your Quintessence on a specific point of your body... and then release."

Impa's words echoed throughout his head as he slowly shut his eyes, as if awaiting his next change.

He felt the Aegir within him burn, as if demanding to be let out.

He did not disappoint it.

–

3

DROOM

"Wha-?!"

Navi's surprised and bewildered call echoed throughout the small chamber that was king Dodongo's battle arena; she made sure to keep her form far away from the huge lumbering dinosaur ahead of her. What seemed to be a muffled explosion however took her – and the very king himself – off guard; she widened her eyes at the sight before her.

When the smoke cleared on the battlefield she caught the sight of a greatly injured king Dodongo, whining and crying to the ceiling as it lay on the ground. Its insides, seemingly blasted apart from the inside, lay all over the ground on which it fell on its side. Kneeling down directly opposite of it was the small-sized form of the shut-eyed Link, his left hand clenched at his lower side.

"L-Link..." The little blue fairy murmured out as she watched his blonde-head form incredulously, unable to believe his survival. "Link!" She cried again, this time in a louder and more urgent tone; the little pixie suddenly broke into a sprinting fly to meet up with him.

The youth himself meanwhile re-opened his eyes and turned around to view his handiwork; his eyes widened and he couldn't help but gasp in a mixture of surprise and sheer astonishment.

"I did that...?" He murmured out, eyes widened at the horrifying sight behind him.

The once intimidating and frightening king dinosaur lay in a crumpled heap of boiling-hot blood, its insides on the outside for all the world to see.

He almost felt sorry for it.

"Link, you're alive!"

The little Kokiri blinked in recognition at his name being called; he about-turned to find the brightly-lit Navi hovering above him, a smiling tone in her voice.

"N-Navi..." He greeted, similarly warmly in his own smile.

"I should have known you'd pull through!"

GRUMBLE...

The pair of adventurers snapped their heads to their front however when they heard the seeming corpse of their enemy make a sudden noise. The growling predator very slowly and seemingly carefully rose itself to its feet; in spite of its very clearly grievous and fatal wounds it began to move all the same.

"Link!"

"I see it...!"

Though he responded to Navi in a hard-eyed glare, his earlier confidence began to drain from him as he very slowly backed away from the similarly sluggish form of his enemy.

If it was moving after that what more could it take?

Almost as if sensing his very thoughts, the narrow-eyed king gave another battle-crying roar as it coiled itself. Again, despite its painful-looking deformations, it managed to roll itself into a sphere once more and started to chase on after the youth.

"Link do something!"

Easier said than done, he thought.

Acting on sudden instinct, the young warrior back-dashed with the use of his Aegir, landing gracefully on the wall behind him; with agility taught to him by his mentor he was able to stick to the wall temporarily, channelling his Quintessence to the surface of the bulwark. He waited and began to steady the flow of his Aegir, expecting his fast-approaching opponent to collide into the wall to get at him.

SLAM

Just as he expected, the king of dinosaurs smashed its body into the wall in an attempt to bring its smaller opponent down; Link remained steadfast in his control and use of his magical energy. He widened his eyes at the surprising sight that lay before him however; with the trail of boiling-red crimson came king Dodongo's true injuries; normally the robust dinosaur would make an effortless and safe turn into the next alley however, with the new serious wounds it possessed, it couldn't. Instead, the poor creature found itself veering off course, rolling toward the sizzling lava-bed in the centre of the battlefield.

I don't believe it, Link thought, his eyes widening as he watched.

I didn't even have to lift a finger in counter-attack after escaping.

~

With a final pained whining roar, the king began to uncoil himself as he realised his grave mistake and miscalculation; rolling upward he turned his teal eyes to the ceiling in a mixture of despair and melancholy, slowly sinking downward. Soon only its head and left arm were visible and, like its head, it raised its arm as if in a last attempt to pull itself up vainly.

Link almost felt badly for the creature in a second sad frown.

"At least now I can say I've done you proud Barkner...," the youth thought to himself, a hopeful frown crossing his features. The sound of a dull hum echoed throughout the battle arena; a sign of the magical warp appearing. "Goodbye... my friend."

"You did great Link; well done," Navi interrupted the boy's thoughts as she hovered down to join him, now standing on the ground beneath him. "Now let's go! Darunia and the rest of the Gorons will be waiting for the good news."

As she said it, he felt a deep sadness in the pit of his stomach.

How will I tell them, he thought.

In spite of his recent victory, Link couldn't help but feel bittersweet as he slowly marched on the newly safe surface of the hardened lava-bed, making directly for the bright blue warp.


	16. A Hidden Truth

Chapter 16: A Hidden Truth; One Final Climb  
Hunt for the River's Sovereign Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.

\--

Having gone through hell and back, Link and Navi finish their exploration through the dreaded Dodongo's Cavern; in confronting the dinosaur king and successfully killing it, they secure the future of the once dire people of Death Mountain. With the deep cavern now rid of the fire-breathing dinosaurs, the Gorons are now free to enter and eat to their heart's content... but at a terrible price.

Amidst the confusion of their spelunking, Link once again gives into the dark side of his Aegir; the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai, and allows his second side to gain control of his body. Barkner, a volunteer Goron assigned to assist him, manages to catch up with him in a selfless attempt to help. However, sadly for him and their budding friendship, comes into contact with Kage Narumono; Link's demonic second side. The two do mortal battle and, gloomily, Barkner perishes in single combat.

Although Navi at last meets up with the group she finds she is too late; though her blue light is a trigger that brings Link's consciousness back from the abyss, her delay in following is set in stone; poor Barkner remains deceased. In spite of these negative points however, Link and Navi both succeed in the mission they had initially set out to do. With hope in their hearts to leave for the next and final Spiritual Stone, Link dares to long for the days he had spent in his earlier youth once again.

For now however, a re-meeting with the Gorons' leader, Darunia, is in order...

\--

Scene 1

Even as he left the darkness of the cavern and even in spite of his recent victory, Link couldn't help but feel melancholic.

The knowledge of Barkner's demise – and at his own hands no less – still weighed heavily upon his young mind.

What am I going to tell his friends in Goron City, he thought.

And what of Darunia?

"Ah! There you are."

The sudden voice's interruption caused him to blink and about-turn before he realised it was one he found familiar indeed.

The old-faced owl seemed to smile on down at him from its perch on the platform above the cavern; Kaepora Gaebora.

Link felt a little guilty that, in the chaos and confusion of his quest, he had managed to forget about the creature's existence.

He found his presence comforting however.

"It's... nice to see you again." Link opted to greet with a smile of his own as he swivelled the rest of his green-garbed body to face the talking bird.

"I imagine things went well in there?"

Kaepora's query, though innocent enough, made the smiling Link soon lose his fragile expression; giving way to a saddened and disappointed frown as he lowered his eyes from the curious owl's.

"As... as well as they could have, yeah." Navi responded for the silent youth. Kaepora, though raised a bushy eyebrow up in similar curiosity, seemed to opt not to respond vocally to the sentence's suspicious contents.

"Well... now you can give the good news to the Goron chief yourselves; well done, both of you!" The advisor smiled in reply, nodding back in what seemed to be commending. Link could only blink in response.

"But I don't see-?"

WEEEE

SLAM

The jump-scared youth gasped in response; a huge rock-like meteor smashed apart the ground on which he stood. Struggling to keep his footing, Link grit his teeth and bore the intense shock-waves the rock caused before suddenly realising just what the rock was when it uncoiled itself into the grinning form of the Goron leader.

It was Darunia of all people.

"Incredible!" The Goron commander called out excitedly as he clenched his muscled fists together at his side, a wide grin drawn across his similarly rocky expression. "We never thought we'd see you again! But thanks to you, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst!"

With his eager and enthusiastic tone infusing his words, Darunia grinned as he rubbed the boy's brunette-blonde hair affectionately.

Link's sky-blue eyes widened at the ferocity and unintended strength the Goron chief put into his movements however.

He probably didn't realise.

SMACK-SMACK

"Hrngh...!"

With two quick but very deceptively strong affectionate claps to his head, Link found himself dropped to the ground by the Goron's intense strength. Almost as if barely taking notice, Darunia could only laugh in delight as he rapidly struck his muscled chest with his similarly intimidating arms.

"What a wild adventure!" He exclaimed, his grin soon lowering into a hard and serious frown, his eyes staring into space as he spoke. "It will make for an incredible story..."

Link groaned as he pulled himself back up to his booted feet, the concerned Navi floating on next to him as she normally did. Even as he dusted himself off from the very light injuries Darunia unintentionally gave him, the Big Brother to the Gorons spoke once more.

"I can't believe the Dodongos just suddenly appeared in such great numbers! And that big rock blocking the cave...," Darunia trailed off, his eyes narrowing into space as if thinking in particular about something. "It must have undoubtedly been the work of that liar, Ganondorf!"

Reminded again of the obstacle to his princess' quest, Link re-rose his head to frown in recognition.

"But you... you risked your life for us...," Darunia started once again, this time turning his hardened and disapproving frown into an appreciative smile; he lowered his eyes to face the youth standing below him. "Kid, fairy! I like you!" He shot out, directing his words of appreciation toward the surprised-faced Link and his guardian fairy; the pair exchanged a similarly curious frown before re-facing the Goron with a light smile. Soon however, the chieftain finally noted an absence and blinked when he did. "Wait a minute..." He began, furrowing his brow forward.

Link winced, lowering his eyes in realisation.

Here we go, he thought.

This is where I have to tell him.

"Where is-?"

"He... didn't make it."

Link's brunette-blonde eyebrows shot up in surprise a second time when he realised it was Navi's voice that cut through Darunia's deep and booming tone. Link could only watch in half-curiosity as he ruminated silently to himself.

"Navi, what are you-?"

"He what?" Darunia responded with a shocked tone, illustrating it with the similarly bewildered expression on his face. Though he was previously silent, the watching Kaepora finally decided to speak up.

"I'm sure it's all-"

"Let her speak!"

Darunia's reply, full of fire and impatience, managed to take the perched owl off guard; he flinched but frowned back in a hard-eyed stare.

Link couldn't help but cringe as he listened.

He's not going to handle this well, he thought.

Maybe I should speak up?

"When we were on our way to the Dodongo king's lair...," Navi finally began talking once more, frowning in her gentle but serious tone of voice. "We were being chased by far too many Dodongos."

Almost as if sensing the train of the guardian fairy's thoughts, Darunia's mouth hung open as he stared back at her sky-blue light, very slowly raising a muscled hand to rest on it.

Link's brow furrowed to match his suspiciously narrowed eyes.

What are you doing, he thought.

"He advised us to block the corridor off... and to leave him to deal with them by himself."

Her words, so gentle yet so automated, gave a horrifying rendition of accounts.

She's lying, Link thought to himself in wide-eyed realisation.

What should I do?

"B-But-!" Darunia began in response, his eyes widened in a mixture of horror and realisation of his comrade's death. "Wasn't there anything you could have-?"

"Barkner was...," Navi began softly, before seemingly lowering her eyes as she spoke. "Very insistent. He wanted to make sure we'd succeed."

Silence.

It almost felt deafening.

Darunia could only stare back at Navi's bright blue light, as if unable to believe the words with which she spoke.

"We're-" Link began in response, hesitating but only for a moment; fortunately, the flabbergasted Goron needed a second to blink before turning his eye down on the youth below him. "We're very sorry," he added to the conversation in a suiting, saddened frown. "He was...," the boy trailed off softly, his eyes growing hazy in thought of the smiling Goron in question. "He was a hero."

I'm not lying when I say that, he thought.

He really was.

And me...

"I'm no better than Ganondorf..."

"That is regrettable."

Kaepora's voice, interjecting into the conversation so suddenly and firmly, made the listening Navi, Link and Darunia all turn to eye him in response. The bird-like creature remained steadfast in his tone however and continued.

"But it is good to know that he did not die in vain," he claimed, a light smile in his voice. "I'm sure he had your peoples' survival and interests at heart chief Darunia."

"Y-Yeah...," the large muscled warrior nodded in agreement, seemingly finally accepted the words he was given. "I'm glad he could... help."

Link couldn't bear to face the sad-eyed chieftain; he stared down at the ground in sombre silence.

"It should have been me."

"Son."

Knocked out of his reverie yet again by an interrupting voice, the startled Kokiri turned his cobalt eyes up to face the owner; the now weakly smiling Darunia.

"You and your friend are probably the last people to see my good friend Barkner in his last moments," the Goron chieftain began before soon reaching the end of his sentence and, seemingly, the point of his new effort. "I want you to become my sworn brother."

The stupefied adventurer could only blink in unsure perplexedness. "Y-Your what?"

Darunia chuckled good-naturedly, shaking his head. "Don't worry... there's no big ceremony involved; just take this... as a token of our new and lasting friendship."

With those confident words, the muscled male put on a new concentrating frown as he rose up his beefy arms skyward and his head with it, as if focusing his Aegir for something. Link's eyes widened in realisation when he saw a bright crimson ball of light form in the centre of Darunia's hands.

Suddenly he felt far more guilty of his ever-growingly large lie.

The red light gave off a similarly high-pitched whine before finally blinding the group of four with a second and even higher whine. When vision to Link's surroundings returned he could visibly see the source of the intense strength of Quintessence; just as with the shining Kokiri's Emerald, a bright golden frame encapsulated the striking red-hot ruby before him. This time however, instead of a swirly Deku-like design, this Spiritual Stone was formed in the shape of what looked like a 'V'. Inside the frame floated the beautiful surface of the red-rose jewel.

The Goron's Ruby.

When the wide-eyed youth held out his hands in a similar motion to his newly instilled sworn brother, the fabulously designed jewel slowly hovered down to his own grip, perhaps by use of Darunia's strong use of Aegir.

"Thank you..."

Link couldn't help but break his eyes away from the lowering ruby to find the light-smiling Darunia staring back at him; a grateful look in his expression.

"For saving us... and for helping Barkner in his final moments."

In spite of the first fact Darunia hit him with Link couldn't help drop his eyes from the Goron's in shameful frown.

If this keeps up much longer, he thought...

I may not last the lie.

"We certainly are glad, aren't we?" Kaepora thankfully spoke up, a genuine and friendly smile in his tone of voice. Navi's blue light lit up to maintain her fiction and the owl's coincidental good nature.

"We are," Navi agreed, nodding her little blue body in response. "Aren't we?"

Realising the question had been seemingly passed over from Kaepora to Navi to himself, Link's eyebrows rose as he re-faced his guardian fairy before soon putting on the best smile he could muster. He faced the Goron chief above him and nodded as he lowered the Goron's Ruby into his inventory, nodding.

"Yeah. We are."

Almost as if acting on the boy's words and friendly tone, Darunia threw a grin on his face as he outstretched his beefy left arm forward, presumably to be taken in a brotherly handshake.

Though I lose a friend, Link thought.

I gain another.

When he held forward his own right hand to take Darunia's left, the Goron leader surprised him yet again by suddenly pulling him in; Link could only gasp as he was yanked clean off of his feet by the male's incredible physical strength.

CRACK

"Hrngh...!"

Wincing in great comical pain, Link's body shuddered when the grinning Darunia took him in for a Goron hug; the strength of which managed to almost break some of his bones.

Navi and Kaepora, in spite of the atmosphere's earlier mood, couldn't help but laugh as they watched.

With hope in their hearts and humour to heighten it, they briefly forgot their woes.

–

2

Climbing Death Mountain for what seemed to be the second time, Link's thoughts couldn't help but wander; the slow hovering overhead Kaepora and Navi's conversation drowned out by his ruminations.

His guilt ate away at him from the inside to match his paranoid thoughts.

Why did Navi lie for him like that?

She knew exactly what happened to Barkner.

Maybe she knew if Darunia ever discovered the whys and hows he would never have gifted them with the Spiritual Stone of Fire.

He tried to reason with himself that it wasn't him that killed Barkner...

But his demonic twin; Kage Narumono.

"So why do I still feel like a horrible person for it?"

"Link! Are you listening?"

"H-Huh?"

Interrupting his inward speculation, Link blinked in response before turning his brunette-blonde head upward to find Kaepora looking over his shoulder as he hovered slowly skyward.

"We're almost approaching the end! I suggest we take a short recess before reaching the top." The bird wisely stated in his bushy frown. Though Link nodded and re-opened his mouth to reply positively, Navi instead did it for him.

As she always seemed to these days.

"But why? We're almost to the end and-?"

"There is something I must discuss with the young Link first."

A worrying chill suddenly ran up Link's spine.

Oh no, he thought.

Though Navi exchanged a seemingly similarly anxiety-filled expression on her blue-light body, she gave him no word-filled reply.

Does he know?

"I guess I'll find out."

~

"Let me first start off by apologising..."

Kaepora's beginning managed to take the blonde youth off by surprise; he could only blink back cluelessly in response.

The trio rested at the foot of the mountain's top, ready to climb at any direction; Kaepora perched himself on the platform not far from the adventuring pair below him. Reaching into his feathers of all things with his beak, he frowned as he procured something from within.

What is he-?

Interrupting his inward thinking, the wise old spirit retrieved what seemed to be a parchment of all things.

"I was supposed to give this to you before you even set foot into Goron City but...," Kaepora lamented lightly before huffing and regaining his smile. "Here." He finished before leaning forward, the parchment in his strong beak. He let go when the frowning and curious-faced Link reached ahead to lightly take the paper.

What was it?

His thoughts were answered almost as quickly as they were asked when he caught the familiar handwriting on the cover.

LINK

His oceanic eyes widened in realisation.

That's Saria's handwriting, he thought.

Acting on instinct, the youth tore apart the paper to open up the envelope, revealing a letter.

Link

I hope this letter finds you well; it's been about a month since you left the forest. Mr. Kaepora told me you're progressing very pleasantly; I hope that's the case. Truth be told when you left me I always knew you would, somehow... but that particular truth is for another time.

The little Kokiri's eyes blinked down curiously at the cryptic clue in her words.

What was she talking about?

The words reminded him of her strange behaviour of their final goodbye on the Lost Woods' bridge.

We all miss you in the forest; the know-it-all brothers always ask me how you're doing, Fado's feeding us stories about she helped teach you how to navigate the Lost Woods and even Mido misses you. He won't ever tell us, even me, but I know he does; he's not been himself since you left.

The last sentence he read left him in a stupefied state.

Mido misses me, he thought.

Am I reading this right...?

I miss you, Link. Every day I wake up sometimes I have to remind myself you're not there and sometimes I wonder if I should have told you things I've wanted to for years.

The reading youth's eyes turned glassy as he sat taking in her words.

Suddenly he felt a longing for Saria and even the home he had once grown to despise in spite of the suffering he had felt there.

But I can't; it's not my place. All I can do is cheer for you from our special place and hope that you come home to me... safe. Please know Link that, to me, even when all else may seem lost to you I never am... not to you. I will always be... your friend.

Saria

Lowering the paper down from his blue-eyed sight, he couldn't help but shut them as he slowly folded the parchment back up before placing into the confines of his tunic.

"You okay?"

Navi's voice made him re-affirm his light smile; he nodded as he turned up to face the blue fairy that was his travelling companion and friend. Kaepora spoke up between the pair however, his tone urgent and business-like.

"Come now! We have one final leg of this journey to complete before we can make you stronger."

–

3

Stepping forward as he made the final leg of the climb, Link couldn't help but gasp in effort; turning his head skyward as he stepped up to the top of Death Mountain, he found the sun slowly setting.

Strange, he thought.

I never noticed that earlier.

"Some things sneak up on you I guess."

"In here!"

Kaepora's voice, so firm yet so pressing, made the listening youth snap out of his short-lived reverie; he turned his eyes down to find the large bodied owl hovering forward before slowly setting down on what seemed to be a small signpost pointing to a long staircase to his right.

Is that where we've to go?

When Kaepora turned his feathery head over to nod toward the wall on his own right however, Link's realisation took hold. His eyes narrowed at the odd placement of the wall.

But there's just a wall there-?

It was only when he saw the cracks did he realise what the wise old owl intended for him to do.

Uttering not a single word, the young Kokiri frowned as he brought out one of his freshly picked bombs. Taking a few steps forward he lit the fuse and placed it carefully down as close to the wall as he could before backing up safely away from it. As the silent trio of adventurers expected, the wall blew apart with the powerful force the explosive gave, sending particles of the wall flying across the earthy ground.

"I'll never get used to that..." Navi murmured out comically, eliciting a well-natured smile from the listening Link.

"Good!" Kaepora smiled satisfyingly before taking flight once more; his firm feathery wings gave a loud flap as he hovered forward. "Follow me!" He urged for the pair to trail behind him.

When they stepped through the darkness of the small cave, the pair of forest-bound adventurers couldn't help but stare around their new surroundings, shocked at the sheer size of the inside.

And of the contents.

Inside was an amazingly colourful grotto dotted with a dreamy wavy-like teary background written lushly across the inside walls. A small stone staircase leading down to what seemed to be a large fountain, decorated with some fashionable but timeless old stone torches. The two orbs of flame upon them flickered noisily as Link, Navi and Kaepora all strode on in; the young Kokiri found himself narrowing his eyes as he did so.

Why is he leading me here, he thought.

It was only when he caught the sight of a familiar emblem laying on the ground just directly in front of the large fountain.

Three golden triangles; the Triforce. Symbol of the royal family.

The more often he saw that symbol, he found himself disliking it somehow.

He wasn't even sure why.

"Ah, good!"

Kaepora's voice, once again, broke the boy from his hard-pressed thoughts.

"We're right on time...," he began again before setting himself down on the platform to their right. Turning on his perch he frowned over at the pair of adventurers. "Well? Go on!"

Urged on by the feathery beast, Link forced a light smile before soon dropping it as he reached for the ocarina gifted to him by his closest companion. Lowering his eyelids as he gazed down at the instrument he softly grazed his fingers across it before setting his usual hard frown as he shut his eyes to play.

Once again he played through the careful notes taught to him by his mentor; Zelda's Lullaby.

Though he waited for what felt like an eternity, only a few seconds passed for the watching and waiting Kaepora and Navi; it was only when Link's sky-blue eyes re-opened that something happened. A sudden piercing and oddly laughing scream rent through the air and to match it came the spinning form of what seemed to be a woman of all things.

Link could hardly believe it.

Before him hovered and floated an oddly dressed and even stranger haired woman; when she finally finished her ascent into the sky, she settled onto a sitting posture in spite of her floating nature and finally the group got a good look at her.

Her long and flowing pink hair, styled in a triple ponytail, was the first thing they noticed; as shimmering as her form, it was beauty beyond compare. She wore an odd ensemble of clothes that resembled something that would be found on an ocean floor and yet, strangely, it covered her just well enough to offer her a strong aesthetic. Finally, resting on her legs were thigh-high black boots, as seemingly well-chosen as the rest of her garments.

"Link... please introduce yourself... to Zen'nō Yōsei." Kaepora's voice cut through the silence once more; the named boy in response rose his eyebrows in a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

Those words, he thought.

Ancient Hylian again?

Sometimes he thought that only Kage spoke those words.

"Almighty Fairy..."

Navi's words, so soft behind him, almost flew by him completely and utterly; he couldn't help but narrow his eyes to his far side when he caught them.

Is that what that meant?

"Welcome... young Link," the seemingly supernatural being greeted him with, her echoing voice feeling an odd sense of security to it. "I am Zen'nō Yōsei or, in the common tongue, Almighty Fairy."

"Almighty Fairy..." Link parroted in a low-toned murmur, his brow furrowing as he stared back at her, full entranced in her form. In spite of his odd fascination with her, he somehow found himself doubting and disliking her.

But why?

What is wrong with me, he thought.

"This one hath heard much of thou... Kaepora Gaebora hath informed me of your progress," the newly introduced Zen'nō explained briefly as she rested her leant head and chin in her similarly raised right arm and palm. "I imagine you already know of the life-blood of the great Sorcerer and the Sainted Three?"

Link couldn't help but blink in light confusion at her words before suddenly realising what she was talking about.

"Do you mean... Aegir?"

The smile on Zen'nō's face widened but only by a little, nodding to confirm his quiet query. "Indeed, good," she smiled, seemingly well-naturedly before slowly unshackling her head from her soft grip. Leaning forward, the Great Fairy began to hover her body closer to the group; Link found himself narrowing his eyes suspiciously and cautiously as he waited for her to approach him. "This one is to assist you, young master, in attuning your sense of sacred Aegir."

Surprised by her words, Link could only stare back in response before sweeping his eyes over to meet the frowning Kaepora's. Feeling them on him inquisitively, the owl swerved his eyes over to meet the blonde boy's before nodding, as if reading his very thoughts and silent query for confirmation.

What did she mean by 'sacred', he wondered to himself.

"Thou art strong indeed, young master...," Zen'nō began, her soft otherworldly voice echoing across the cavern's beautiful walls. "I can sense thy strength of Aegir and yet... there is something... strange... about it."

Link's eyes narrowed, recognising almost immediately what she was talking about.

She can sense Kage's presence from all the way over there?

What's going to happen when she looks further inside me?

His silent fears were seemingly realised when the Great Fairy hovered down to meet him on his lower level, smiling softly back at him. She similarly overhung her slim arms to rest and hover next to each side of his head; Link found his blue eyes snapping in each direction of her hands, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. Almost as if sensing his apprehension, the floating Navi spoke up for him.

"It's okay Link; she won't hurt you."

How do you know that, he thought silently back in retort.

When she finally shut her own eyes and leaned forward to grasp at the sides of his head, she leaned her own head backward. As if in response to her movements, a visible light red aura began to circulate her body; a clear indication of her use in Quintessence.

Here we go, Link thought.

He shut his eyes to join her, his anxieties growing.

~

When he re-opened them he didn't feel quite complete; the frowning Link re-asserted his location by looking for his surroundings. Finding only the familiar inky blackness of his subconscious he realised exactly where he was.

Which could only mean that he was close-by as well.

"So much room in here, young master..."

The Great Fairy's voice, he thought.

Just wait.

Just wait until you see him.

"That's odd..."

Link's eyes darted up to Zen'nō's echoing voice over his shoulder as he listened, expectant and suspicious.

"I can sense a... second presence in here."

Here we go, he thought.

"Let us see if this one can... isolate it."

The silent blonde stood in his own subconscious, watching the light fog ahead of them both slowly lift away, presumably from the use of her Aegir. Sure enough, after a suitable amount of time, only a single iron cage stood before the two now; Link's anxiety grew as he stared back at it. The shadowed silhouette that rested inside he knew all too well made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"Who is...?"

Zen'nō's voice, so curious and oddly calm, took even him off guard; she floated forward to reach the gate, eyes unsure. Link followed behind her dutifully, silently thankful for whatever force gave him the power to leave the cell locked.

As expected, the Great Fairy hovered curiously over the cell's iron bars, eyes narrowing through the darkness as if to get a glimpse inside. Far in the cell's depths rested the sitting silhouette of Kage Narumono; his demonic red-eyed glare slowly rose to meet Zen'nō's and the great fairy mother could only widen her own eyes in response.

"What...?"

The pattern on Kage's shadowed face upturned perhaps into what seemed to be a chuckling smirk before, suddenly, an arm of magical energy raked the iron cell's bars savagely.

Zen'nō Yōsei gasped a second time but, this time, in horror; she reeled back safely away from the cell before watching silently alongside the hard-frowning Link next to her. Kage's shadow slowly rose to its feet before dusting itself off; re-raising its fiery hell-like eyes to glower at the pair it began to very gradually march toward them.

Easy, Link thought.

He can't escape that cell; not by himself.

CLANG

In spite of expecting it, Link felt himself flinch from the sudden loud noise the iron bar made when the hard-scowling Kage grasped it so fiercely. He stared ominously silently back at the staring pair; while Link stared back in his own silent knowing frown, Zen'nō could merely watch in horrified widened eyes.

"What...? Who...?"

Finally the light in Link's subconscious began to brighten and, as it did, the pair were given a full look into the shadowed silhouette. Indeed, just as odd and chilling as before, the light revealed a mere mirrored form of the standing and frowning Link. Zen'nō could only stare in a mixture of bewilderment and disgust.

"Ore-no-koboshina-shioma-tometeru..."

Kage's words, as otherworldly and demonic as Link remembered, echoed poignantly throughout the subconscious' walls they all resided in. Zen'nō stared back at the demon warrior before finally narrowing her indigo-shaded eyes forward back at him.

"Your fists call out for blood... do they...?" She translated almost perfectly, word for word; Kage growled back at her, unable to do much else from his position in his cage. Narrowing her eyes, Zen'nō outstretched an arm forward, bound with Aegir and magic aimed at the cage before her. Link watched her carefully, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

What was she doing?

Her golden aura began to encapsulate the iron cell Kage resided in and, as it did, the mirror image form of Link growled back at them. He stepped back from the bars in an evasive scowl, his demonic fiery-red eyes darting between each bar almost as if for an escape of some kind.

"What are you...?"

Link's quiet query evaporated into the air when her seeming technique began to drop in intensity; he narrowed his own oceanic eyes at the woman-like being as she dropped her arm, satisfied.

"I see..."

Zen'nō's words, so quiet and yet so confident, bounced lightly off the walls of the listening Link's subconscious.

What was she surmising?

"Come."

With that single word from her, she laid her soft left hand on his similarly smooth right one; Link could barely turn to face her before he found his surroundings brighting up, indicating their leave being taken of the area.

–

4

"This one refuses to attune the boy's Aegir, Kaepora."

The first words Link heard echoed throughout the grotto when his consciousness was finally restored; he gasped very lightly as he frowned forward, looking for the source. Sure enough it was the Great Fairy Zen'nō's voice, as silky as her touch.

"B-But you can't be serious-?" Kaepora responded, his own eyes widening and his tone similarly as shocked.

Zen'nō shook her pink-haired head as adamantly as she spoke before, frowning hard in reply. "I am," she answered before seemingly continuing on to elaborate. "Your chosen one is hiding information from you."

"Wh-Wha-?" The old owl gasped in response; with a single blink he turned on his perch to eye the surprise-faced Link. "What is she talking about Link?"

Though the young Kokiri opened up his mouth to retort his guardian fairy, ever watchful and wise, cut in before he could.

"Yes, he is...," she answered, her voice firm though soft as usual. She began to hover forward; Link's own blue eyes darted to her location in his top right, narrowing curiously. "But can you really blame him? I've seen what the Great Fairy has... and it's not something one can easily explain."

Her tone, serious and even firmer than before, surprised even the listening blonde youth.

He wondered if she were lying again, somehow, in spite of knowing she had seen him in his second side beforehand.

"And not just the demonic Kage...," Zen'nō intoned forward as she folded her arms and leant her body to a light side, crossing her legs in a former position as she hovered above her fountain, almost as if judging him. "But he has drawn innocent blood as well."

"He's-? Wha-? But-?" Kaepora continually blinked and stuttered, purely shocked and horrified as he turned his feathery head to face the pair of adventurers. Link's own oceanic eyes widened in a similar shock.

She knew all that?

How?!

"Your protégé has failed to inform you it would seem...," Zen'nō claimed, her voice murmuring her words out as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously down at the boy. She turned her indigo eyes down to face Kaepora as he also faced her. "While inside the Dodongo's resting place he engaged in battle with the Goron that came to assist him," she began in her frown; Kaepora gasped, eyes widened. Zen'nō very slowly swerved her narrowing eyes down to stare back at the similarly wide-eyed youth in question, a glare on her countenance. "And killed him." She finished thusly, a hardened frown adorned on her usually soft expression. Link's own frown twitched in response, knowing to her words.

Yet he could not say anything to refute her claims.

Kaepora remained as speechless as Darunia had when told the untrue half of the story, his eyes widened as he slowly 'rounded them on the ashamed-faced Link.

"Is what she says... true?"

This time Navi allowed him to speak; the young Kokiri lowered his sky-blue eyes in further shame, nodding. "Yes."

"W-Why...?"

"It wasn't him that did it," the guardian fairy added in with a frown in her tone, this time directing her words toward the floating Great Fairy above her. "So don't make it sound like it was."

"We don't see him contradicting any of this, do we...?" Zen'nō shot back, eyes narrowing down at the younger pixie. "Regardless, even if it was this Kage Narumono, this one cannot and will not give he and his demon the tools to harness this otherworldly Aegir," she reasoned with in her folded armed frown. "To do so would be folly."

"B-But your grace... he is one of the only choices we have left for this land of Hyrule!" Kaepora pleaded with the Great Fairy desperately, his tone filled with urgency and anxiety. The listening supernatural being merely wandered her eyes over to frown back down at the worried-faced owl, waiting for him to elaborate. "In fact... with the way things are shaping up, he may be our only option left." The bird frowned firmly back, turning the conversation to his advantage as he delivered to her his ultimatum. She stared back at him for a second or two before, finally, about-turning her eyes to glare down at the standing and frowning Link.

"Yes...," she began before narrowing her own eyes. "I know of whom you speak."

Kaepora, seemingly in similar knowing, nodded in acquiesce.

"Hrm...," Zen'nō hummed on out in a hard-frowning narrow of her eyes before, at last, she dropped her hands to rest ahead of her. "Very well," she started again as she hovered back down to the blonde boy's own level. "Then this one shall unlock only what potential of your own you have that remains as a compromise," Zen'nō claimed, her words echoing firmly throughout the beautiful grotto; Link took a wayward step back from the Great Fairy, eyes narrowing back at her. "I shall not even touch that Kage Narumono's ability within you."

Finding himself in silent agreement and his mood improving from her words, Link found himself smiling slowly and nodding in response. Seemingly satisfied with his response, the pink-haired Zen'nō leaned forward with a frowning nod before reaching for the sides of his head a second time.


	17. Skirmish on the Waterway

Chapter 17: Skirmish on the Waterway  
Hunt for the River's Sovereign Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Military March" - Dragonball Z: Budokai OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).  
"Dance Macabre" - Dynasty Warriors V OST. Scene 4 (First Half).

\--

In their run-in with the Gorons of Death Mountain, Link and Navi have finally succeeded in saving their very race from death by mass hunger. Though they fought to the bitter end in an effort to save their only volunteer companion, Barkner the Goron, he unfortunately falls to Link's second side; the demonic Kage Narumono. In a particularly sketchy manoeuvre Navi decides to take the initiative and tells the woe-struck Darunia lies about his death, perhaps in an effort to spare him further anguish as well as to manipulate him into gifting them the Spiritual Stone of Fire. Although Link is torn about the issue, he recognises the merits of Navi's actions and even the risks of giving him the real truth; in spite of the fact it was Kage that killed Barkner, Darunia may not be so willing to have seen it in this regard.

In this way however, their hard-won trust is now veritably shaken to the core and the very foundations as a result.

Having received the Goron's Ruby regardless as their prize however, Link and Navi's morale rise in response to their success; sensing their accomplishment, Kaepora Gaebora returns to guide the pair and advises them to accompany him in one final leg of Death Mountain. Hitting the summit of the intimidating peak, Link and Navi are introduced to Zen'nō Yōsei; a Great Fairy of immeasurable Aegir and power. Seemingly with the intent on asking the creature to assist the young Kokiri in control of his great potential and Quintessence, Kaepora's efforts are given a worrying jump-scare when Zen'nō instead refuses him. When pressed she informs the group of Link and Navi's lies and the second presence living inside of the blonde boy, the demonic Kage Narumono.

In spite of all of this however, when given little choice in regards to their circumstances, Zen'nō agrees to Kaepora's demand in assisting but this time with a single condition; she intends only to focus her efforts on boosting Link's own Aegir himself, leaving Kage and his satanic influence untouched. With this raising the group's morale little by little, the renewed Kaepora leads and guides the party of adventurers down Death Mountain, Kakariko Village and once again into Hyrule Field's glorious hills and meadows. With one final lead gifted to them by Zen'nō's great wisdom and knowledge, the group of heroes travel east into the great rivers of Hylia and Zora for the last leg of the trip.

Link allows himself to hope for more than just heartache and failure, looking deathly forward to ending his quest granted to him by the Great Deku Tree once and for all...

\--

Scene 1

Kicking off the dirt from his heels and swinging his legs over the dark and powerful steed he had grown close to over the years, the narrow-eyed Ganondorf allowed himself to frown softly down at the horse. The unusually expressed king of thieves ran his coarse armoured hand across the ebony-shaded creature, drawing an appreciative whinny from it in response.

Very few ever saw this side of him; a side he saved only for those he felt deserved it.

"Rest here...," he frowned out quietly before turning his yellow eyes on the source of the gushing and thundering water. "I'll be back."

With that, the armoured king began his stride on foot, stepping up and around the twists and turns the grassy hills offered him. Overlooking it was a rather fierce looking waterfall that, by all means, appeared to be immovable and unpassable. With a confident grin however, Ganondorf raised his superior right fist, coursing it with a powerful yellow-shaded Aegir. Just as he expected – and having agreed on previously with the Zoran race hiding behind it – the waterfall slowly began to cease in strength.

Here we go, he thought.

Even as he strode forward through the beautiful water-rushing cavern, Ganondorf's armoured footsteps caused such a rumbling raucous that every Zora in the vicinity watched him intently. Though used to the attention given his past in his homeland, the Gerudo king found the current events to be quite taxing indeed.

If only there were a way to get this done quicker, he thought.

Pushing the negative thought from his mind, Ganondorf set his eye toward the long incline up leading from the oddly shaped zig-zag pathway. Even as he passed by numerous stone pillars of the same surface he walked on, he could hear the mutterings of land and sea Zoran.

"Who is he...?"

"What does he want...?"

Ganondorf allowed the relaxing sound of the crashing waterfall to his left in the huge pool of water to drown the Zoran men and women's voices out of his ears.

Focus, he thought.

We only have one chance to put a stopper in that royal brat's plans.

Let's do it.

With that thought he double-took at the wooden signpost pointing up the arching stone walkway. Narrowing his eyes over at it he translated the common language as thus.

Just Ahead:

King Zora's Chamber

Show the proper respect!

Ganondorf couldn't help but turn a side of his mouth up in derision at the signpost's message and the arrogance he felt exuding from it.

"These people... they know nothing of respect or the suffering that's required to truly understand the concept they spout."

His thoughts, thought as always silent, gave the direct impression of his disapproval.

Focus, he thought.

Focus.

Eventually, the armoured and muscled man found himself approaching the vicinity of a standing torch made of metal. Though unlit it led him to the staircase laying on his left as he turned to face it; Ganondorf soon found himself slowly ascending upward. Finally however it was only when he caught the appearance of two armoured Zoran men standing guard at the end of the ascending staircase did he grin.

But only very lightly.

Here we go, he thought.

~

As the muscled man approached the two guards, the Zoras almost immediately tensed; deep-blue eyes both narrowing down at him suspiciously. They both affixed the partisans to point at the approaching Gerudo king warningly; as he expected to, he found his path barred and Ganondorf allowed his frown to soften up into a very small smile.

"Greetings," he began in his low smile. "I hope those aren't meant for me...?"

"There is no record of an audience with his highness today for anyone; please leave." The left guard warned down briskly and firmly, his oceanic eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Come now gentlemen...," the Gerudo king shot back in a disarming chuckle, shaking his fiery-crimson head as he did. "King Zora De Bon and I had an agreement," he attempted to reason with the two. "It is, after all, the only reason I have managed to pass through your wall of water..." He trailed off as he shrugged back at the pair, his smile soon shifting to a very subtle but visible smirk of superiority.

You cannot stop me, he thought.

Democracy is just another tool to manipulate you with.

The two Zoran men looked unsure on how to respond, even turning briefly to shake their heads at each other; Ganondorf couldn't help but hold back a chuckle. Just when he thought he couldn't be surprised however, the voice of another Zora interrupted the scene, eliciting his well-earned attention; this one however seemed lighter in origin.

A woman, perhaps?

Her appearance stood out from the beginning; seemingly wearing what appeared to be a purple-shaded dress of some renown, surprising him once again in the simple fact that every Zora before her seemed to be missing clothes. Her long head-fin came down as far as the small of her back, similar to most other Zoras however.

"Mayhap she's a slightly more important one than the rest of those sheep out there..."

Even while he thought through his silent words, Ganondorf also noted the red framed spectacles adorning her light-blue eyes and face; another odd sight. Her appearance seemed to suggest a more administrative role as opposed to the two Zoran men's military ones.

"His highness has issued an order to allow Lord Ganondorf through gentlemen." The woman informed the pair of male Zoras, frowning studiously and business-like as she did so. The listening Gerudo found himself slowly smiling lowly in response to the confidence in which she spoke.

Just as planned, he thought.

Though the Zoran guards didn't appear to like the order, they obeyed; lowering their partisans as they frowned back down at the smiling king. Belying the gratifying smirk hidden behind it, Ganondorf merely resumed his march on up the stone staircase, joining the well-dressed Zoran woman to his right.

"Greetings my lo-" she began with a respectful bow before soon realising he was marching on regardless; with a raised eyebrow she halted and jogged slightly to catch up with him. "I am Lenah; it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes; much," Ganondorf nodded in acknowledgement, his sociable smile still safely scaled upon his facial expression. "I see you have many warriors here..." He began in a suggestive tone, his amber eyes wandering over to watch the frowning Lenah. She nodded similarly, her head-fin bobbing as she did.

"Yes, we're very sorry about that," she frowned back apologetically. "Things have been fairly hectic since the Octorok attacks; our forces have been on standby as a result."

"Ah, yes of course...," the Gerudo king nodded in recognition, smiling as he did so. "Well... I suppose it could always be worse, couldn't it?"

"Indeed," Lenah frowned back on out, her eyes very briefly narrowing back at him, perhaps in suspicion before swiftly switching forward. "Regardless... I introduce you to our own lord and liege; King Zora De Bon the sixteenth."

Just as she spoke, the pair had found themselves at the top of the staircase; Ganondorf turned his own frown upward to find a huge lumbering Zora resting upon the gateway to what seemed to be a fountain of all things. Wearing a long and regal-looking red cape with gold embroidery upon his back and a similarly kingly crown, the Zoran lord turned his indigo eyes down to similarly frown at his audience. Resting beneath the endless small waterfalls below him seemed to be an eloquent red carpet, drenched in water.

Ganondorf fought the urge to turn his nose up in disgust at the creature before him; stepping forward, he bent his knee and shut his yellow eyes as he rested his muscled and armoured left arm horizontally across his chest. Lowering his fiery-red head in a gesture of respect, Ganondorf allowed his actions to speak for him even as he opened his mouth.

"Greetings... oh exalted king of the Zora."

"Ah... welcome, king of the Gerudo is it?" The large blue amphibian-like man frowned back down at the bowing armoured warrior. "It is nice to finally meet with you..."

"Yes, of course...," Ganondorf said, allowing his smile to break out over his face once more as he re-raised it to face the Zoran king. "To be able to exchange words face to face like this... it is truly the blessing of the Sainted Three."

His warm words managed to bring an appreciative smile from the listening king Zora; he nodded in response.

"Now... what is so urgent that you need my help with?"

Ganondorf's low smile grew but only a little; curling at just the right side.

A very subtle sign of his intentions.

"I realise I may be asking a lot king Zora...," the Gerudo's leader intoned forward as he lowered his red-shaded head, putting on a lying frown as he did. "But for the people of Hyrule... your people of the Zora... and even my own...," he began again, slowly re-opening his eyes as he continued. "I implore you to consider my request..."

King Zora couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow down at the silver-tongued Gerudo royal below him, waiting and listening.

–

2

Shivering slightly from a very odd feeling, Link couldn't help but let out a narrow-eyed gasp.

"What's up?"

He turned his oceanic eyes up to face Navi's greeting before soon reforging his frown into a light smile.

"Nothing; I'm fine." He lied, shaking his head. Seemingly satisfied, the little blue ball of light turned to continue hovering forward. The blonde boy faced forward similarly as he listened to the loud sound of Kaepora's wings flapping overhead; his long owl-like shadow cast over himself, Navi and the green field of Hyrule.

Since leaving Death Mountain, Goron City and Kakariko Village the group found themselves stronger, especially having been strengthened by Zen'nō Yōsei's power of Aegir. Unfortunately however for the naïve Kokiri youth, he still found himself doubting his and his guardian fairy's intentions in telling the trusting Darunia lies. Though they successfully rid the Dodongo Cavern of its namesake Link found his demonic second side, Kage Narumono, had murdered the poor Barkner; a volunteer Goron that chose to assist the heroes when no-one else would. Now under the impression of Dodongos having killed his close friend, Darunia opts to make Link his sworn brother and gifts them with the Spiritual Stone of Fire; the Goron's Ruby.

It weighed heavily on the poor boy's guilt.

"Now, if we travel to the north-east I'm sure we'll...," Kaepora crooned out lowly as he swept his well-attuned eyes around the large field of Hyrule, presumably in search. He allowed a small smile to break out over his face as the group travelled over a small incline overlooking what seemed to be a river travelling directly from Kakariko's direction. "Ah! Excellent!" He called out, however, soon found his smile dropping. Navi noticed and rose a curious eyebrow behind her blue light.

"What Kaepora, what's wrong?"

Link found himself brought out of brooding; similarly curious he rose an eyebrow as he stepped over the small field of green. It was only when he traced both their stares that he widened his own eyes at the sight before them.

Resting at the end of the greenfield sat a long wagon drawn by a horse; on the wagon's cloth lay the cow's face that Link had grown to recognise so well.

Symbol of the Lon Lon Ranch.

Sitting on the horse seemed to be the resting and smiling Talon, just as he remembered. Resting in the back of the wagon, sitting with the expected bottles of milk was the wide-grinning Malon. Quickly catching sight of the travelling three she exclaimed out his name and waved at him noisily. Link couldn't help but let out a slow, relaxed sigh on seeing her face, a weak smile on his own expression.

Fate indeed can be odd, he thought.

~

Link couldn't help but wince in his sociable smile as he pried the laughing Malon off of his green-garbed body; a similar cheer enveloped his own mood.

He wasn't quite in an incredibly good mood but it had certainly been risen.

Who would have known I'd have made such a friend, he thought gratefully to himself.

"I've missed you so much fairy boy!" The fire-haired girl grinned as she squeezed her wrapped arms around his back. He couldn't help but smile back; the feelings reciprocated. "How have you been?" She asked pulling back from his embrace as she shone her beaming expression on him. "Oh, that's... odd."

Her words, curious and similarly bizarre in origin, made the listening Kokiri drop his smile in favour of an unsure frown.

"You look... different, somehow," Malon re-affirmed, scrutinising him. Her similarly blue eyes washed over the new muscles that noticeably poked out from his previously skinny arms and legs before she soon patted down his soft brunette-dark-blonde hair with her hands. "Why do you have...?"

Link, realising exactly what she was talking about, widened his eyes; a sad pang of guilt shot through his spine and he couldn't help but lower his eyes from hers suspiciously.

"Y-Yeah; we're just back from Death Mountain," Link replied, re-raising his eyes to shut temporarily as he rubbed the back of his ever fond green hat. "I've been to see the Great Fairy; can you tell?" He joked in an attempt to lighten the mood; though Malon noticed it with a wan smile she seemed to have something else hidden behind her eyes.

Did she see through it?

"Well... I don't know if I like your hair; I don't know if you dyed it...," she claimed before leaning forward and grinning as she squeezed the muscled bumps on his right arm; the young Kokiri laughed from the sudden ticklish touch, taking a half-step back. "I like these though..." She finished in a low-grinning murmur.

"Yeah, okay..." Link couldn't help but grin back from a half-way safe distance, leaning his head to the side as he did.

"Lovely to see you again my boy!"

Talon's voice, so deep and masculine, managed to cut into the comfortable but tense air around the pair; the portly man sitting on the horse and cart hopped off before striding over to join the children.

"Mr. Talon...," Link greeted in a well-natured smile of his own, turning his blue eyes up to face the approaching farmer. "It's nice to see you too."

"And Navi! Your light has gotten brighter!" The man grinned, folding his arms as he approached. Navi grinned behind her cerulean illumination.

"Naturally."

Talon couldn't help but burst out laughing at her tone of sheer confidence.

"I'm glad you're both doing so well!" He exclaimed out amidst his jolly mood before soon settling to a happy wide smile. "Though I am curious what brings you both out here now? Did things go well in the mountains?"

Exchanging a sudden look with the brightly burning Navi, Link couldn't help but smile weakly as he turned back to face the older man, nodding in response.

"Y-Yeah," the blonde replied, rubbing the back of his head; an old habit that was very quickly growing to be a very consistent one. Navi, seemingly noticing, turned only her eyes to watch him, and only very briefly. "It went great; we got what we needed."

"That's wonderful!" Talon grinned, unfolding his arms into a grand gesture as if to emphasise his joy. "I imagine you must be near finished then?"

"Not quite," Navi answered for him this time, hovering forward a little as she spoke. "We just have one more Spiritual Stone to acquire."

"And where's that?" Malon asked with a blink, ever the curious one.

Both Navi and Link found themselves turning their own curiosity filled stare briefly over to the perched Kaepora, resting on a nearby tree's branch. Realising he would not openly speak in front of untrusted company however, they soon wrenched their stares from him and answered.

"We think down this road and into Zoran territory," Navi continued, a light smile in her bright and blue tone. "It's process of elimination."

When the two ranch-hands turned to grin at one another however, Link and Navi found themselves watching the pair in unsure frowns.

"What's...?" Link began in a bewildered chuckle, shaking his head.

–

3

Sitting in the back of the wagon, Link couldn't help but smile as he chewed on a piece of grass; he lay his back across the rumbling wagon's right side using his free hands to rest similarly behind his green-hat head. He rose up his right leg to cross over his similarly raised left and gave off a lazing impression.

It was all Malon could do to avoid laughing aloud at him; she sat across from him in an open grin, grasping her legs behind her usual white dress as she tilted her red-haired head at him.

"This is more like it." He claimed in his smile, his eyes shut as he did so.

"Didn't you rest enough up there in the mountains fairy boy?" Malon teased in her knowing grin, raising an eyebrow over at him as she did so.

"Hey, a growing boy needs it," Link shot back in a smug, but joking, manner, his eyes still shut as he grinned, chewing on the blade of grass in his mouth. "Besides, it's nice to actually do nothing for a change," he added in a victorious chuckle before soon re-opening his eyes in a surprised frown. "Wait a minute."

Malon blinked her own blue eyes back at him in an unsure frown of her own. "Huh?"

"Where's Ingo?" The blonde boy asked, turning his head around almost as if in search for the hard-working ranch-hand in question. "I don't-?"

"Well we had to leave someone to look after things while we were out delivering y'know," the red-haired farm girl shot back matter-of-factly, a knowing grin on her lips as she spoke. "I mean it's not as if-"

CRASH

The pair of children held back from almost falling over; though Malon squeaked out in surprise as the wagon was rocked by a sudden tremor of some kind.

"Wha-?!"

Link's eyes narrowed after the initial shock of his own mood passed.

Where'd that come from, he thought.

Behind us?

"Stay in the wagon kids! I'll deal with this!"

The listening pair exchanged a look; merely looking into her eyes left the watching Link with a worried frown of his own.

"Link what's going-"

Though the reawakening Navi addressed him directly in a tired yawn, seemingly having been sleeping next to him, Link opted to re-affirm the already hardened frown on his expression before suddenly breaking up from his seated position. Rushing for the exit, he dropped the white cloth in passing as he ignored Malon and Navi's pleas behind him.

~

Hopping out of the hardwood carriage behind him Link attempted to adopt an unfeeling frown upon his expression, expecting some kind of attack. Running 'round to the front of the group's area he found their path blocked by what seemed to mere boulders; the youth from Kokiri Forest could only stare at them in quiet wonder before soon double-taking when he caught a surprising sight indeed. The narrow-eyed Talon stood in what seemed to be an inexperienced defensive stance, wielding a farmer's pitchfork; he pointed it toward what seemed to be the rushing river itself.

Who is he-?

When Link traced the farmer's stare he found himself staring back at a wondrous sight indeed.

A strangely humanoid-shaped kind of fish hovered inside the river; hanging around the top end of the river above the adjacent hill, it narrowed its similarly oceanic eyes over at them suspiciously. Its body, a similarly sparkling blue, shone with the watery force it swum in. However, oddly enough, Link's eyes darted in the revelation of what seemed to be a dismemberment in the creature's appearance; though it wore a pair of long and sharp-looking fins on its two arms, a third fin unfinished in its completion rested on the watery humanoid's head.

Was it cut off for some reason?

"Wha-? Link?!"

The youth's name being called made him wrench his head away from examining the seeming source of the commotion, finding the wide-eyed Talon to be the one talking to him.

"What are you doing out here son? Get back inside!" The older and seemingly wiser man ordered, his brow furrowing forward at the younger male. In spite of his absence of his trusty Deku Shield, Link confidently shook his blonde-haired head back at his benefactor, eliciting a wide-eyed frown from him in response.

"I don't know if you know how to fight Mr. Talon, but...," Link trailed off lightly before very slowly turning his eyes back to stare at the nameless creature in the river watching them threateningly. "It's probably best I deal with this."

Seemingly listening as he watched from the stone perch gateway blocked by rocks, the silent Kaepora nodded in approving.

"Link!"

His name being called a second time, the little Kokiri darted his eyes to his side, unmoving his head.

Navi's voice.

As expected, the brightly blue guardian fairy came flying forward to join him.

"Don't... rush off like that...," she gasped, seemingly having exerted to pursue him. "What's...?"

It took her perhaps a second or two to examine their surroundings but, when she did, her eyes widened behind her cerulean light.

"That's a... Zora!"

Link's eyes narrowed, darting in her direction to his top-right as he listened.

"What's it doing attacking us?"

"Eentrulshners!"

The creature's voice, an odd kind of baritone, filled the air; managing to catch their attention Link, Talon, Kaepora and Navi all turned their heads to watch the fish-like creature speak to them.

It sounded like a man, Link thought.

"Neev! Laht cence!"

"Navi...," Link whispered, furrowing his brow forward back at the seeming floating Zoran. "Do you know what it's-?"

"'Intruders... leave. At once'," the guardian fairy seemingly translated the Zoran's speech, word for word. "I don't think he's happy to see us."

"Ain't that the truth...," the blonde youth muttered half-cynically before re-opening his mouth to address and respond. "I don't know if you can understand us...," he began, raising his voice to carry over the short incline down they stood on. "But we mean you no harm!"

Receiving merely stony silence back in response, the strained group of four resided in their respective spots, merely staring back at their hostile attacker.

"Link... we have to proceed forward..."

"I know..." Link murmured back to his sky-shaded companion, chewing on the inside of his lip contemplatively; he turned his eyes briefly over to watch the boulders blocking their path.

Looks as if we'll have to fight, he thought.

But if we do here we'll have no room.

"This thing's a fish... so it has home-field advantage," the boy ruminated on thoughtfully. "I'll have to draw him out..."

With that silent speculation, Link re-opened his mouth to speak to the creature before him.

"You and me! Up behind the boulders!"

The boy's voice, confronting and unusually decisive, cut across the air and bounced off the walls around them.

Silence descended down upon the tense watching group; a small bead of sweat formed on the side of Link's forehead, dropping down to convey the anxiety he felt in the aggressive reticence bearing down on him. Finally, however, the nameless Zoran turned his similarly hardened frown back with his body and he began to swim sleekly past the boulder-kept gate.

A smile very slowly broke out across Link's expression.

Okay good, he thought.

"Now I just can't lose to him..."

Ignoring the worried pleas from the ever watching Talon, Link breezed past him and shot himself over the very boulders themselves; with speed and dexterity in his movement he easily leapt by them, sliding across the grassy ground beneath him. The first thing he took notice of in the afternoon's daylight was, oddly, a clucking cucco in the top left corner of the area. Seemingly surrounded by small rocks and strangely enough, butterflies, the area appeared to be odd indeed.

Ahead of him appeared to be a road; a single man lay at the end of it, bizarrely eating something from a never-ending bag in his possession. Behind him lay what seemed to be a steel gate, preventing any further passage via that route. In the centre of the road appeared to be the very river that the nameless Zoran swum in, breaking the road into two halves; a second half rested on the other side of the relatively long and vertical river.

There's not much space to fight on here, Link thought.

And he's certainly not coming out of his hiding hole...

"Time to use my brains."

–

4

Wasting no time the nameless Zoran leapt out of the water and, gracefully, spun around in mid-air as he rose high into the sky; following him wordlessly, the waves of the water beneath him began to encircle and encapsulate his body, almost like a shield of some kind. Narrowing his similarly oceanic eyes up at the hostile water creature, Link found himself watching him carefully for any kind of weakness in his form.

It wasn't easy.

He began to doubt himself in the simple fact that this was his first attempt at engaging a Zoran warrior in battle.

Fighting a Goron, even in his demonic form, was difficult enough.

And with no shield to rely on now...

Maybe I should fight non-lethally anyway, he thought.

"Can't use my sword..."

Almost as if sensing his very anxiety-filled reflections, the bare-chested Zoran knight narrowed his deep-blue eyes as he made his final spin in mid-air; finally facing his lower-positioned enemy, he swung his forearms diagonally at the youth. Like magic, a (barely) visible pair of projectiles shot out from his forearms; seemingly powered by his Aegir and coated in the same deep-cobalt as the river beneath him. Acting quickly, Link's similarly sky eyes widened before he suddenly jerked his upper-half body to his sharp-right in evasion; with relative success considering his late reply, the Quintessence-powered pair of projectiles whizzed by him before making contact with the wall behind him.

With his body swung 'round a certain way, Link's eyes widened a second time – this time in horror – when he watched the result of the assault on him. Seemingly barely missing the poor butterflies flying 'round near him, the super-sharp Aegir blades cut through the very wall behind him. A sudden fresh dose of worry and fear shot through the young Kokiri's spine as he watched and listened to the wall groan in pain.

I can't let him hit me with that, he thought.

SPLASH

Catching his attention a second time, Link's breath caught within his throat and he snapped his head forward in response to the sudden noise; the Zoran warrior, landing in the river below him, caused the water to crash upwards in response.

"Link..."

The blonde youth half-turned his head in reaction to his guardian fairy's call.

"What's up?" He hushed over in a hardened frown forward, his eyes never leaving his opponent.

"Haven't you noticed? His head-fin?"

Link's similarly blonde eyebrows rose up in recognition.

He did.

Briefly eyeing his companion next to him he urged her on to continue.

"Zora are known for their great skill in swimming but, if for any reason, they're deprived of any of their fins...," Navi began excitedly, her own eyes narrowing forward. "Their ability to swim becomes very difficult!" She hissed out.

Link couldn't help but widen his eyes in response; a shot of high octane morale washed over him, her words echoing in his ears.

"He can't swim?!"

"I'm saying it's most likely going to be very difficult for him!"

That at least evens things up for me, Link thought.

But how to draw him out...

As if sensing the pair's conversation, the nameless hostile Zoran suddenly leapt right back out of the river he resided in; vertically rising high into the air he spun around again and executed his projectile attack filled with Aegir.

"Now I have a response!"

Urged on by his own high battle morale, the narrow-eyed Link pulled back his right arm; infusing it with his own Quintessence, it glowed a deep orange-brown. Finally, and soon as well as the projectile made contact, the young blonde widened his eyes and grunted with effort as he merely swung a haymaker into the flying Aegir blades.

"HNGH!"

CLINK-DROOM

As his fist met with the missiles, the sheer strength of his own power made them initially bounce vertically above him. Undone with his counter-attack however, Link's fist drove savagely into the once lush grassy ground beneath him; an unhealthy mix of earth and fire Quintessence joined together to cause a small explosion that drove the nameless Zora's attack in yet another direction.

This time, flying straight back at him.

Widening his blue eyes in what seemed to be abject horror, the hostile Zora male could do little but drop to the ground via gravity; he managed however to growl lowly with scowling effort as he bent his body sideways in an attempt to evade his own reflected attack. Just barely he passed through the two Aegir blades; they zipped by him like arrows shot from a bow and, with incredible strength, they managed to cut through the two walls they passed by on the way up Zora's River.

"All right!" Link couldn't help but exclaim, snapping his attacking fingers forward in a wide-grinning morale-infused shout.

"Nice one!" Navi called on in approving after him. "But be careful; we've cornered him now."

"Yeah...," Link murmured back, his grin soon fading in favour of a worried frown, his head lowered to match. Sure enough as they half-expected, the desperate Zoran warrior used what remained of his control of the water by suddenly calling it forth and charging forward with it roaring behind him. "W-Woah!"

"No, Link!"

He's going to drown us!

Seemingly acting on his very inward fears, the nameless Zora called out a loud battle cry as he brought down a humongous wave of water toward them oppressively. Narrowing his eyes, the youth from Kokiri Forest acted on his own instincts and grunted as he sent Aegir directly to the soles of his feet. With incredible speed, the boy sent himself rocketing backward toward the long wall behind him; as he felt his brown boots touch the surface of it, his blue eyes widened. Readying a bomb from within his bomb bag, he aimed it down near the butterflies' location and made ready to leap in its direction.

Here it comes!

SPLASH-CRASH-BOOM

As expected, the enormous wave of water managed to envelope the entire area Link battled on; even seemingly the butterflies and poor cucco were covered in the pristine liquid. Travelling on it wordlessly, the nameless Zoran knight surfed on it like a sheer board of all things; his oceanic eyes narrowed to match his hardened furrowed brow as he rode on it confidently in spite of his seeming head injury. Eventually as the water passed through the area seemingly harmlessly the only remaining figures left were himself standing on solid (if, but wet) ground and, comically, the cucco clucking away in the corner.

Catching his attention, the Zoran knight turned his eyes over to glare at it wordlessly as if expecting his enemy to approach from it somehow. Growling lowly, the Zoran warrior began to search the area; finding no humanoid left, (aside from the oddly eating man in the top right of the gated area) he opened his mouth to finally speak.

"Eentrulshners!" He called out loudly, his baritone echoing throughout the hills of Zora River. "Scheen ailsahls!"

"Right here!"

Widening his eyes, the nameless Zoran knight snapped his head 'round behind him; the similarly wide-eyed Link suddenly appeared, almost as if from no-where, high in the sky. Descending down to meet him in a savage plunging strike attack, Link's superior left arm soon shot forward in a wide but quick haymaker.

WHOOSH

Barely managing to evade the sneak assault by bending his body downward in a crouching position, the Zora gasped in wide-eyed shock and horror; his eyes shot over to the boy's general direction and widened a second time in realisation when he found the circle of small-stones destroyed. In the centre appeared to be a rocky, black hole, opened by an explosion of some kind.

He took refuge in the underground hole!

Genius, he thought.

Before he could finish his thought however the wide-eyed Link's wide wallop flew over his injured head-fin, casting a similarly wide arc as it gave a low whine in its passing. Acting quickly on his assault, Link soon narrowed his eyes as he pressed on with a low sweep; successful in his fruitful endeavour, the nameless Zoran male gasped as he was knocked off of his feet, falling to the ground. Pulling his superior left arm back this time however, Link's brow furrowed as he focused on his fallen opponent; with a low-to-mid growing grunt the youth brought his fist rocketing down, coated with powerful magical Aegir.

"N-No!"

Uttering a stammering wide-eyed rebuff, the nameless Zoran knight brought up his right sharp fin to block with, truly desperate.

CRASH-SKRRR

Link's Aegir-infused fist clashed noisily with the Zoran's now extended fin; as sharp as seemingly a sword, pure brunt force matched up with the knife-like surface of the Zora man's right fin. Sparks of both physical and spiritual energy flashed endlessly between them; the pair found themselves glaring at one another past the flare of conductivity. Eventually however, the Zoran knight opted instead to grunt as he broke the hold pre-maturely; perhaps for the best, he gasped as Link's fist passed him just barely, crashing into the ground boisterously. Grass, rocks and all kinds of debris blew apart from the small explosion the boy managed to create; in the chaos, the Zoran warrior back-dashed to presumable safety. Link couldn't help but utter out a disappointed tut under his breath as he watched, his eyes now scanning for his missing opponent.

"Link! You have to use your sword!"

"What?!" Link replied up urgently, raising up a lightly miffed but curious eyebrow.

It was barely for a second but he saw it; the young Kokiri's oceanic eyes widened at the glint of steel hiding in the smoke he himself had created.

She's right, he thought.

Desperation gripping him, the narrow-eyed youth yanked the Kokiri Sword out from its sheath on his back to meet the athletically rolling glint of steel fast-approaching him.

CLANG

The blue-bodied Zora managed to smash his two frontal fins at him as if they were swords themselves; they both clashed noisily with Link's own steel as they met. The Zoran knight spun around in mid-air as he recovered, temporarily back-dashing to safety once more. Acting on his rise in speed and momentum however he used his Quintessence to boost his return to the fray; shooting forward he executed a second high frontal spin. This time though, the young Kokiri was ready and ducked the initial strikes. Unfortunately for him however the Zoran knight seemed to almost expect it and, with a similarly spinning pair of roundhouse kicks, he smashed the gasping Link back the way he came.

Sprawling to the wet grassy ground, Link used the very Kokiri Sword itself to stab viciously into the surface he involuntarily flew across. Eating up the beautiful Hylian grass, the steel assured him of his momentum; with narrowed eyes he watched the fast-flying form of the scowling Zoran warrior, clearly in quick pursuit. Watching carefully Link waited very patiently, perhaps for an opening of some unknown kind.

"Link, he's coming!"

Ignoring his guardian fairy's pleas, the youth merely sat knelt in his recovered state; his Kokiri Sword still stabbed safely into the ground below him. Sure enough however, the sailing form of the Zoran was easy enough to predict; Link widened his eyes as he bent his body backward to lean back from. The Zoran warrior widened his eyes but it was by far too late; as he spun toward him like a vicious spinning top, Link grunted as he bent backward to send his left boot squarely into the undefended knight.

"Gagh...!"

Time slowed down for the pair in their actions; the Zoran male widened his eyes and coughed out what appeared to be saliva as he was sent very slowly into the air with his opponent's counter-attack. Link's low scowl grew in intensity as he watched the results of his well-timed venture before, finally, time returned to its normal flow and he pushed up off the ground to spiral wildly in a rotating roundhouse kick.

SMASH

The nameless Zora yelled out in visible agony as he was sent careering vertically into the sky above. Widening his eyes with his similarly broad roundhouse kick, Link tossed his Kokiri Sword in final and desperate assault attempt. The Zoran knight, catching sight of the quick-flying blade, could do nothing to slow his ascent and instead opted to go for a defensive manoeuvre. Raising up both of his arms' fins to defend himself with, he managed to intensify their sharp cutting strength. Watching intently from his low position, Link found himself furrowing his brow once more in curiosity.

CLINK-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK-CHUNK

Link had to flinch when he watched his once well-aimed Kokiri Sword come flying back to meet him; wildly spinning as it was tossed back by the Zoran's defensive swipe before it finally met the ground with a satisfying stabbing sound. Gasping as he landed however, the nameless water humanoid was visibly fatigued as the battle wore on; he huffed on as he landed, deep-cobalt eyes glaring over at his younger opponent. Link, similarly, was breathing heavier...

However only by a little.

I'm definitely outpacing him, he thought.

If I can just end this now...

Almost as if anticipating his very thoughts, the Zoran made one final desperate leg at charging forward; the already wet grass beneath them was wrought with the water elemental Aegir that he channelled to the soles of his feet, presumably to increase his strength and speed of movement.

Shame I can't manipulate lightning, Link thought in a wry grin.

Pushing any negative thoughts from his mind he raised up his body before swiftly lowering it; gaining a new hardened frown he concentrated his own Quintessence into his body to form an earthen element to his entire body. The blonde youth readied his nerves for his fast-approaching enemy, looking for a weak point as he did. Opening his blue-bodied mouth, the Zoran knight began a low-to-loud battle cry before, finally, making his final approach. Intensifying all his physical and spiritual energy to his sharp forearm fins, he widened his eyes before pulling them back.

"HYA!"

ROAR-SPLASH

Even with all the water Aegir powering the knight's final fearsome attack, it appeared to do nothing in his attempted assault on the boy's orange-glowed body; Link rose a blonde eyebrow back at him before suddenly breaking out into a grin. The nameless Zoran male could only gasp in widened, terrified eyes, realising the battle's eventual outcome. Wasting no more time, the young blue-eyed Kokiri grappled the Zoran's attacking arms with his own left to prevent his defence before soon leaping up in place. Twirling in mid-air he executed a trio of roundhouse kicks across the Zoran's face savagely.

"One! Two, three!"

"Gurgh...!"

With a pained but constrained yelp, the poor river creature was sent sprawling and spinning through the air back whence he came. Time slowed down for the grunting, shut-eyed Zora; as he was sent modestly spinning into the air, the attacking Link rolled offensively forward as he landed. Grasping at the fallen Kokiri Sword's hilt in his roll, he eventually pressed the ground with his Aegir to bound forward after the retreating Zoran.

In an attempt to recover however, the nameless knight growled as he used his left arm to grasp at the ground beneath him; as he skid painfully across the field he tried to push off of it to backflip. Though he succeeded the super-fast form of his opponent leaping before to catch him caught him completely off guard.

"N-No!" He exclaimed, eyes widening as he flew backward in mid-air, unable to change his direction.

With one of his big brown boots aimed down, Link executed a deft dive kick downward, successfully catching the grunting Zoran's torso.

"Hrngh...!"

SMASH

The ground tore up in a sea of rocks and smoke; even as the poor Zora coughed in disorientation, when he felt the cold steel of his enemy's weapon press up harmlessly to his neck he flinched, gasping.

The recovered Link stood over him, body leant to the side to match his grinning face and head, resting his clenched right fist behind him.

"Guess I win." The unusually confident youth boasted, a child-like chuckle on his tone as he briefly and temporarily shut his eyes.

Watching him suspiciously and in an unsure frown, the unknown Zoran knight could only sigh out forward, seemingly exasperated with his fatigue.


	18. Fraternising with the Help

Chapter 18: Fraternising with the Help  
Hunt for the River's Sovereign Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Zora's Domain" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 2 (First Half).

\--

Having successfully rescued the mountain people, the Gorons' from a horrible fate indeed, Link, Navi and Kaepora Gaebora return to their quest of locating the third and final Spiritual Stone; the Spiritual Stone of Water, the Zora's Sapphire. With both the Great Deku Tree's Kokiri's Emerald and Darunia's Goron's Ruby, only one possible road is left to the excited heroes; Lake Hylia and the Zoran River to the east of Hyrule.

Hoping to finish this grand quest he was initially put on by his country's princess, Link allows himself to hope for more than just anxiety and failure.

Rendezvousing with their old advisor, Kaepora Gaebora however, the two heroes from Kokiri Forest make their final climb of Death Mountain and meet the 'Almighty Fairy'. Though she reads the blonde boy's mind and even informs Kaepora of his and Navi's lies to Darunia, she opts not to reveal this to Darunia himself. She also learns of the existence of Link's demonic second side; the Kage Narumono, and opts only to unlock what remaining potential Link himself contains.

With this raise in power and morale Link, Navi and Kaepora continue their march across Hyrule Field and meet up unexpectedly with some old friends; the familiar faces of Lon Lon Ranch. Malon and her father Talon reveal themselves to be on a delivery and, in a happy turn of events, appear to be delivering supplies to the Zoran community in the fabled Zora's River. Though Kaepora does not visibly trust them; opting not to openly speak around them, both Navi and Link choose to travel with them, grateful for their much needed company.

Though their journey is far without action; in the midst of their travel they are attacked by what appears to be a rogue Zora male, perhaps an unknown injured knight of their military forces. Stepping up to the plate, the solemn-trained Link successfully defends Lon Lon's cargo and its caravan and all without serious injury to either side.

Meanwhile, as the heroes finish up in Death Mountain, the main cause for the princess' concern grows ever stronger; the desert king Ganondorf convenes with the Zoran king himself, De Bon XVI. Seemingly having already planted his seeds of doubt within the Zora's community, the intelligent warrior-king of the Gerudo now merely watches from his seat of manipulation...

\--

Scene 1

"That was incredible!"

"I know, I know," Link muttered back in response for what felt like the umpteenth time, rolling his cerulean eyes back at the grinning Malon across from him. The wagon they rode on bumped and jumped as it was driven by its operator, Talon. "You haven't quit talking about it." The young blonde pointed out, eyes shut as he leant back in his previous position; one leg raised over the other, arms resting behind his head and leaning back against the wagon's interior.

"Hey, come on Link," Navi tried to reason with him from the side, resting as before atop one of the many bottles of milk resting around them. "I mean it's not as if she ever saw us fight when we stayed at the ranch."

"'Us'?" Link challenged in a wry, cheeky grin. Turning his raised blonde eyebrow on the blue guardian fairy, she suddenly turned a shade of red; a veritable sign of annoyance. "I'm kidding," the cheeky youth chuckled good-naturedly, turning his little grin into a well-meaning smile. "You're a very important part of our partnership." He re-affirmed in his charming smile; almost immediately the blue ball of light regained its brilliance, as if his compliment instantaneously lifted her spirits.

"Maybe that visit to your fairy on Death Mountain wasn't a complete waste, hm?" Malon shot over, leaning her head into her raised pair of hands, resting similarly on her thighs. She gave him a look that matched his earlier humour; her eyelids fell a little to suit the knowing smile on her face.

"It certainly helped..." Link conceded with as he turned back to face his red-haired companion, shrugging in his own re-attained grin. Almost immediately the pair erupted into child-like laughter, leaving the watching Navi disapproving but with a smile on her face regardless.

I've missed this, Link thought.

It seemed as if every waking moment since arriving at Goron City was nothing but unpleasant.

This was a much-needed switch.

In his hilarity, Link winced when he felt his hand brush the damp body of the similarly sitting form on his left. Seemingly briefly forgetting the extra passenger they had picked up mere minutes ago; the youth could only smile awkwardly in his direction. The head-fin injured Zoran male that he had fought with was revealed to be sat next to him, frowning heavily back down at the group.

Shame on the atmosphere now, Link thought.

"Sorry," he apologised in his weak smile, pulling his hand away. "You feeling any better?"

The Zoran merely stared back down at him with narrowed eyes in a stern frown, resting in a low-leaning kind of posture. He laid his arms across his raised right knee as he opened his mouth to respond.

"Yes, fine."

His voice, a low baritone, filled the wagon with its significance in speaking; even the talkative Malon found herself quietened by his response.

Having entered into a brief misunderstanding with the nameless Zoran upon entering Zora's River itself, Link and the still nameless Zoran knight engaged into a fierce battle. Gratefully ending in a stalemate thanks to the power-unlock the Great Fairy of Death Mountain afforded him, the group found themselves agreement when their intentions were finally revealed. Agreeing to travel with them on the divulging of their destination, the river inhabitant dropped his hostile guard and joined them. Link however was still curious on the man's name.

"Y'know... I hope it's not too much to ask, but...," the youth began on in reply, chuckling well-naturedly as he rubbed the back of his green-hat head. He re-opened his sky-blue eyes and leant his head to the side to re-affirm his pure intentions. "What's your name?" He asked in his smile before soon outstretching his left arm to be shaken with. "Mine's Link!"

The Zoran knight frowned back down at him before his eyes briefly scanned the Kokiri's hand beneath him. They narrowed before he turned his head away from him, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the forest youth.

"Alwyn."

Link couldn't help but blink back up at the newly introduced Zoran; raising a curious eyebrow he could only exchange an unsure frown and shrug with the listening Malon.

No point in pressing him if he doesn't want to talk, the youth thought to himself.

~

Though the journey to the Zora's Domain itself was largely uneventful, Link half-expected their caravan to be attacked yet again somehow in all of his inward anxiety. When they finally approached what appeared to be the entrance pathway to the domain, Link found himself itching to be let out. Sitting up from his leaning position he shuffled toward the exit of the wagon in a crouched posture.

"Link! Where are you going?"

Flinching at the mezzo-soprano in Malon's voice, Link about-turned his head very slowly only to find the red-haired girl herself tilting her head in his direction. Similarly curious, the frowning Alwyn swerved his own head 'round to watch, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. Link couldn't help but let a sheepish smile out in response.

"Just... curious!" He gave back in reply, chuckling lightly as he did so. "That's all!"

FWIP

With that, the youth shot out of the wagon's cloth and into the afternoon daylight of Hyrule's Field and the Zora River. Putting on a hardened frown to his expression he hopped out and stepped around to the front, scanning the area as he did. A long wooden rail stood to his immediate right, blocking any possible fall into the long river below. Dead ahead appeared to be a cream-shaded bridge; their stopping point. Link raised an analytical blonde eyebrow upward as he approached from the back; his oceanic eyes caught the sight of two armoured Zoran knights, presumably males. Standing on either side of the cream-shaded bridge, they both carried fierce-looking lances that made the youth wonder on their strength.

"What are you doing out here son? Everything's going fine," Talon called from atop the wagon, ever-gripping his reigns on the two horses below. "You can go back inside." The large man tried cheerfully, a well-meaning smile in his expression. Link's eyes narrowed thoughtfully however between him and the two watching Zoran knights.

"We have told you before; turn back!" One of the Zora's called out toward them, a hardened frown beneath the helmet he wore. "Things are very hectic right now! We are unsure of your intentions!"

"But I got a wagon full of deliveries for you!" Talon batted back in an exasperated frown. The pair of knights watched him suspiciously and carefully. "Won't you at least let your king know?"

"Link, what's going on?"

His name being called a second time, the blonde Kokiri about-turned in his frown to find the whole party behind him approaching; Navi, Malon and Alwyn together. He shook his head in his frown as he exchanged his look with his watching guardian fairy; a silent expression for her. Almost as if sensing the situation come to a head however, the hard-eyed Alwyn stepped forth behind the group to reveal himself to the two Zoran knights.

"A-Alwyn?!" The knight on the right suddenly exclaimed, catching sight of him. "What are you-?"

"These people are not our enemies," the injured but stable Zoran warrior spoke over, his hardened baritone bouncing off the walls of the field they stood in. "Let them in."

His words left hanging in the air, the pair of Zoran knights exchanged a look together before suddenly bursting out in laughter. Taken off guard, Link could only narrow one of his eyes in watching, darting between the hard-faced Alwyn and the pair of knights before him.

"All right you man of the people you," the knight responded with in his laughter, grinning behind his helmet as he soon stepped to the side; his comrade acting similarly. "In you all come."

–

2

"Wow..." Malon breathed out as she walked the stone pathway entering into the water-rushing territory of the Zora's Domain. Her keen eyes caught the impressive sight of the roaring waterfall to the group's far-left; a glorious cascade of aqua blue and bright-white at its bottom. Around it stood a single platform where, similarly, a lone Zora stood seemingly passing the time. His – and many other Zoran resting in the huge pool of water – attention was drawn to the group of travellers; watching them carefully but unsubtly and openly, the community of sea-people began to utter murmurs of their conversation.

"Who are they...?"

"I don't care who they are; what are they doing here?"

"Is that Alwyn...?"

"What's he doing with them...?"

Even as the frowning Link, Talon, Navi, Malon and Alwyn all passed by the numerous Zoran people on the winding stone path before them they couldn't help but feel exposed by their staring. Perhaps on instinct, or by her own choice, Link soon felt his left hand being slipped into Malon's; surprised, the young blonde turned his risen eyebrow frown on her. The fire-haired farm girl swung her own frown on his, an odd kind of anxiety and melancholy in it; almost immediately he could somehow tell the powerful emotions she felt.

Mainly apprehension.

He morphed his blank look into the warm smile he liked to give her as often as possible. She responded wordlessly; with a symbolic and modest smile of her own she gave him a similarly warm feeling in response.

"Link..."

Navi's interruption suddenly made him feel very awkward indeed; with widened eyes he wrenched both his hand and his eyes away from hers, shaky as he did. Though visibly disappointed in her saddened frown Malon said and did nothing to rock the cradle.

"Y-Yeah?" The diffident little Kokiri murmured back out, swerving his business-like frown on the floating ball of blue light to his right.

"We should probably be heading to the Zoran's ruler for that Spiritual Stone..." The guardian fairy pointed out, an urgent frown in her tone of voice. Regaining his weak but good-natured smile, Link nodded.

"Sounds g-"

"Welcome, weary travellers."

Link, having been interrupted a second time, blinked as he rotated his curious look on the source; a notably differently dressed Zoran stopped in front of them, bowing toward them in a seeming sign of respect. Though similar in her humanoid form, this Zoran woman was attired in what appeared to be a purple-shaded dress. Carrying what seemed to also be books of some origin she tucked them safely away behind the recesses of her well-positioned left arm.

"I am Lenah, of King Zora De Bon the sixteenth's administration," she introduced herself as she bent her body forward in greeting before soon re-raising herself to their level. "I apologise for any possible trouble our men have given you; things have been very chaotic of late."

"Oh, hey, don't worry about it!" Talon laughed back into the conversation with a jolly grin, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly in response. "These things happen!"

Evidently pleased with the ranch owner's response, the newly introduced Lenah smiled back in return before soon regaining her frown as she caught the sight of the hard-frowning Alwyn.

"Sir Alwyn, what are you doing with these travellers?"

Raising a curious eyebrow of his own as he opened his small and pointed ears to listen, Link eagerly awaited their new companion's words; one of the very few times the stony-silent Zoran warrior would speak.

Folding his arms, Alwyn gave the woman a gloomy frown as he opened his mouth. "I mistook them for allies of that parasite," he claimed, narrowing his eyes with the emphasis in his sentence. "I'd rather know for real what we're dealing with when it comes to people invading our borders even if they're just delivery people."

Link's cerulean eyes narrowed, hanging at his side to reach the unscaleable face of the fish-like creature, his words having piqued an interest.

What did he mean by 'parasite', he thought.

Could it be...?

"Very well; we have prepared rooms for you all if you so desire to stay within our haven," Lenah spoke as she bowed her head very lightly; another sign of respect. "Sir Alwyn, your room is just as you left it."

The Zoran warrior behind the green-garbed youth nodded in his ever-stern frown.

"That's mighty kind of ya!" Talon smiled widely and appreciatively. "I hope our milk and cheese suit your taste buds!"

Lenah couldn't help but chuckle at him, an amiable tone in her voice. "I am certain we shall."

"Lenah."

The female Zoran turned her new inquisitive frown over to face the source of the stern baritone; the hard-faced Alwyn.

"Yes?"

"Do you think the boy and I could go see the king right now?"

His question, so sudden and disarming, managed to make the frowning Lenah raise an eyebrow in curiosity; she turned her eyes down to look at the similarly surprised Link.

What was he planning, he thought.

"Um... sure I would think so; he's not busy."

"Good," the Zoran warrior responded before pushing past the group, presumably for the throne room. "Come on." He called briefly over his shoulder, seemingly toward the blinking blonde behind him. Link could only half-narrow one of his eyes in scrutinisation as he walked down the winding stone pathway before him. Exchanging one final shrugging look with the likewise dumbfounded Navi, Link opted to follow along after him.

~

Stepping past a few Zoran male soldiers, Link soon found them chuckling and for reasons he was yet to unearth; suspicious, he watched them as they muttered something low under their breaths.

He noted that it seemed to be whenever Alwyn was with him.

Maybe there was some bad blood between him and them?

"Um... Mr. Alwyn... sir?"

The Zoran warrior seemed not to listen; merely marching ahead in his sombre frown.

"Not really the talkative type are ya." Link chuckled into the conversation a second time as he approached the taller male on his left, smiling as he did so. Just as before however, the rigid-behaved Zoran opted not to cave to his younger partner's cheer; he merely turned the corner to continue ascending the stone staircase that presumably led to the domain's king. Just as Link expected, the pair made their final approach to the throne room; a large area hosted by water and a noticeable single smaller staircase before them, almost seemingly a podium of some kind. Twin torches were lit next to the two as they walked in; they could hear them crackle and burn away, lighting up the signboard on the right of the podium. Link narrowed his oceanic eyes over to it, reading it from his current position.

King Zora's Throne Room

To hear the King's royal proclamations, stand on the platform and speak to him.

Well that settles that, Link thought to himself, resettling his eyes.

He turned his blonde head 'round to find the main attraction of the room; a large bodied Zoran male sitting on what appeared to be the throne itself. Resting on a rug drenched in red rug drenched in falling water – presumably from the outside fountain behind him – the king looked on down at the two that strode on in. He wore a royal red robe 'round his front and back as well as a red-jewelled crown as if to signify his importance.

This was definitely king Zora, Link thought.

He's the one with the last Spiritual Stone.

"Ah, greetings... Alwyn, is that you?" The large-bodied man called down at the pair, frowning as he squinted his ruby eyes down at the pair. The tall Zoran warrior nodded and, walking up toward the podium provided to him with the green-garbed youth in tow, he began to kneel down forward.

"Yes my lord," he greeted back in response, raising his right arm to rest horizontally over his similarly raised right knee. Bowing his head in an obvious sign of respect he double-took in the child-like wonder on Link's face on his right before widening his own eyes and grunting as he shot his right arm on the blonde's head. Comically, the young Kokiri gasped as he nursed the very minor injury he carried before following his new companion's actions. "I hope things have been well here?"

"As well as they could have been I'm afraid to say my old friend," King Zora De Bon smiled sadly, as if in apology before continuing on for a counter query. "How did things go on your intel run?"

"Not as well sire; I'm sorry," Alwyn retorted, shaking his injured head-fin back at the Zoran king above him. "I couldn't find any lead at all the missing princess."

Link's eyes narrowed in Alwyn's direction as he spoke.

'Princess'?

Things suddenly got a lot more complicated.

"Ah...," King Zora sighed, a disappointed frown adorned upon his face. He regained his cheery visage however when he turned his newly sociable expression on the knelt Kokiri boy and his guardian fairy before him. "And who are these interesting new people Alwyn?"

"My apologies sire," the Zoran operative asked for pardon before soon turning his frown on the pair next to him. "This is Link of the Kokiri Forest to the east and his guardian fairy, Navi." He introduced them in his hardened frown, as business-like as ever. Link couldn't help but look at the man in a light grin.

Is he not going to mention our fight on the river?

"Ah... welcome, young Link and Navi," King Zora greeted the pair. "I trust you have been treated well upon your arrival?"

Though the smiling young blonde opened up his mouth to respond, Alwyn seemingly as before, did it for him.

"They have no complaints my lord, only... they are here for our race's treasure," he informed very quietly, as always a hard frown upon his facial expression. "I believe they are the emissaries of king Daphnes himself sire."

"King Daphnes...?" The Zoran ruler parroted, widening his eyes before regaining his sociable smile. "It feels like years since I have seen the old man; I hope he is well," he began before, slowly, his smile fell apart under the watchful eye of the frowning blonde below him. "I am sorry my son, but..."

Link waited for the inevitable bad news that he was almost used to hearing by now.

"With my daughter, princess Ruto missing, the Zora's Sapphire is now also missing," he elucidated very briefly, frowning as he did so. Link turned his eyes from the Zoran king's, narrowing in disappointment. "Why do you need it so badly any-?"

"We are told that a crisis in brewing in Hyrule Castle, my lord." Alwyn interrupted comfortably but rudely; though surprised, king Zora didn't seem to be bothered. However, as Link listened he couldn't help but eye his new companion comically.

Will you let me speak, maybe, he thought sarcastically.

"It would seem that a man is looking to conquer this land of Hyrule," the Zoran knight claimed, narrowing his oceanic eyes as he spoke. "And collecting these Spiritual Stones are the only way to deny his ambitions."

"Could it be that man that approached us only mere days ago...?" King Zora murmured out thoughtfully, his eyes wandering down in what appeared to be deep rumination.

"I believe it is him my lord," Alwyn insisted forward boldly, eyes narrowing confidently. "Think about the timing with princess Ruto's disappearance and Lord Jabu Jabu's sudden illness."

"It would certainly add up...," King Zora De Bon frowned on out thoughtfully for the last time before, finally, re-raising his eyes up. "Young Link, yes?"

Finding himself addressed, the surprised youth widened his eyes but raised his head. "Y-Yeah?"

"I believe I can help you," he smiled in response, a new kind of hope brewing in the man's eyes. "Do you both know of... Lake Hylia...?"

–

3

The two marched on past the iron gates and the ladder they previously climbed behind them; even as they did however, Link was deathly aware of the setting sun also resting behind them. It caked the beautiful green fields of Hyrule in an orange-like glow that made the frowning youth stare at the source of light for a few seconds, entranced.

"Come on."

Alwyn's hard tone made him swivel his head back 'round; he jogged to catch up with the briskly-paced Zoran warrior.

Having been sent down south to Lake Hylia and its waters by the Zora Domain's king, Link, Navi and Alwyn hope for more than just a cold lead and sparkling blue.

Seems like every time I hit a new place like this I'm put on a quest, Link thought negatively to himself, a hardened frown on his own face as he walked quietly after his new companion.

He knew Saria would admonish him for his selfish way of thinking.

I don't care about these people though, he thought.

All I care about is returning to my home.

And even then with how he was treated he was beginning to see fault with even that.

"Still though...," he began silently to himself, a small smile re-growing on his low-held head's position. "They miss me..."

Or so Saria would have him believe in that letter she gave Kaepora.

Thinking of the sly owl following behind him, he kept silent as he ever did when they were within company.

He often wondered why.

Was it trust? Or something else?

"Here we are."

Pulled out of his ever deep thought, the frowning Link re-raised his sky-blue eyes as he stepped forward to join the tall Zoran soldier. Quite the sight lay before him.

The first thing he noticed was a strangely positioned house of all things – with a large tower to house the chimney on its right, it was relatively a normal-sized brick and stone house, blue and white in colour. The oak door, resting on the left of the building, was seemingly as well constructed as the second tower resting on the building's ceiling. A single wooden ladder rested on the tower's front, seeming leading to what appeared to be a crow's nest of all things, used presumably for a high point.

Sitting in the left side of the green field area was a single scarecrow amidst what seemed to be a carefully patched dirt area; a second lay next to it, undisturbed.

For crops maybe?

Past the numerous fields of lush green grass and running into the water lay a few stone pillars, matched by the similarly stone floor with them. Five stood tall and proud, leading into the long water lake below yet one poor pillar lay in ruins; broken and destroyed, it sat sadly upon the green grass ground.

Though it was merely an inanimate object, Link oddly found himself watching in sad stony silence for the fallen pillar.

Further ahead and leading away from the mainland via two long bridges seemed to be a singular island; a long tree with a single branch leading outward stood tall on it, the main sight of it. Link also noted a very oddly placed platform.

I wish I could see what was on that, he thought.

Good luck seeing it from here, he added in a wry grin.

"Down here."

His attention pulled a second time, Link's ocean-like eyes double-took to his left when he caught the sight of what seemed to be another island of all things. Noticing it hidden away in an odd corner, the curious Kokiri's blonde eyebrow rose upward as he jogged down the grassy hill after his temporary companion.

"Hey, Alwyn..."

"Mm?"

"What's that place?"

Finally received his full attention, Link stopped just as he approached the Zoran warrior and the fallen pillar they now stood adjacent to. The curious and hard-frowning Alwyn turned his head up to trace the youth's finger, only to find the green-field island he was directing him toward. In the distance they could only see a dark-brown colour in what appeared to be the door and the building surrounding it.

"Oh, that," the Zoran man frowned out before shaking his injured head-fin as he resumed his slow pace downhill; Link and Navi, of course, joined him. "That's the Lake Hylian fishing pond." He explained very briefly and concisely in his reply. Exchanging an unsure shrug with the listening Navi, Link re-opened his mouth to retort as he re-faced the man ahead.

"They let just anyone in?"

"Well, not for free obviously," the Zoran clarified, briefly swivelling his eyes 'round to his side as he walked down onto the stone platform. "I think the going rate right now is twenty Rupees."

I shouldn't be asking such mundane questions, Link thought.

The idea of bringing Saria (and even Malon) back here was nice though.

He couldn't help but grow a small smile on his face as he imagined the two girls meeting and teasing him for his probable lack of skill in fishing.

"Come on."

Turning his frown up, the green clothed youth jogged a little catch up with the walking Alwyn, soon finding himself dropping a small level. The adventuring pair marched down into a very shallow pool of water, gave risen to by the huge stone building laying in the water beneath them. Though the much taller Alwyn gave no qualm to the water, Link winced as he felt it reach his knees and creep into his boots.

I hate when this happens, he thought.

"Normally Theralin's hanging around this sort of...," Alwyn began again, his voice lowering to a murmur as he came to the end of his sentence. However, as he scanned the area, he rose his eyebrows and nodded his head upward, signalling a resuming of his march forward. "There she is."

"There who is?" Link questioned the Zoran curiously, stepping forward through the watery ground beneath him. Diving himself directly into the deep water ahead, Alwyn rose back up to the surface and began to stroke forward.

"Don't just stand there; follow him!"

Well that settled that.

In spite of his light annoyance at Navi's urgent tone, Link summoned all of his courage and scrunched shut his eyes as he dove forward.

SPLASH

Initially the water shocked the boy enough to make him widen his eyes and chatter his teeth together endlessly. Kicking his feet to remain upward, just as he remembered in his lessons with Saria, Link managed to at least keep himself above water.

"Are you okay over there?"

Turning his blonde head over to find the hard-frowning faced Alwyn floating nearby, swivelling his own body 'round from his conversation with another Zoran. Link couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the second Zoran presence, surprised.

Where did she come from?

This water felt like the ultimate camouflage for the ocean-like people.

With some effort involved, the forest-boy attempted to instil Aegir into his body to better control himself; managing it successfully, he opted to kick and chop through the water to join the pair ahead of him.

"Sorry I don't have more for you Alwyn," the second swimming Zoran smiled apologetically in her partner's direction. "I've been out here for a while but all I found was a bottle; I didn't even bother picking it up," she claimed before double-taking in the approaching Kokiri's direction. "Oh, hey; who's your friend?"

Putting on the ever stony-silent frown he was known for, Alwyn about-turned his firm expression to face the gasping boy behind him and rolled his eyes at the idea of introducing the pair.

"His name's Link; De Bon made me go with him to search for clues," Alwyn merely answered, a matter-of-fact tone in his voice, clearly bothered. Link couldn't help but narrow one of his own eyes back at the rude Zoran when he made his final approach, listening. "I'd have rather did it alone."

"Oh that's no good Alwyn; you can't still be that frosty with people," the laughing Zoran woman grinned in his direction before morphing it into a sociable smile as she faced the curious boy. "It's nice to meet you Link; my name is Theralin."

The listening Kokiri nodded in appreciation, smiling as he faced her.

"Alwyn isn't that bottle important?" Navi cut into the conversation though, rudely, with good intention. She hovered toward the group of four, hanging in between them all as she shined her similarly cobalt colour on the sparkling blue ocean beneath her. "I mean you never know."

"Hmph..." The stern Zoran warrior merely huffed back before turning his head over to nod back at the smiling Theralin; seemingly a sign of some kind. Almost as if cued by his action, the smiling Theralin reached into the recesses of her fish-like body to produce what appeared to be the glass bottle she had previously mentioned. With little warning she grinned as she lightly lobbed the small jar toward the wide-eyed Link; he gasped but managed to catch the container successfully, uttering out a low relived sigh. Regaining his frown, the youth narrowed his eyes down at the contents of it.

Something seemed to be inside of it.

Though he frowned in his hard and stony expression, Alwyn weighed into the quiet gathering of the group, re-opening his mouth to speak. "I'm going to go look around the perimeter, see if I can find anything else."

"Wait!" Navi suddenly called in his direction; surprised, the frowning Zoran turned back to hold off from diving, raising a curious eyebrow. "Link what is that in there?"

The blonde youth found himself narrowing his oceanic eyes down at the dark-brown contents of the otherwise pristine vial.

"I'm...," he began uncertainly, slowly shaking his head as he uncorked the bottle with a light grunt. "Not sure..."

"Try not to ruin the paper!" Theralin threw into the conversation with an amiable but amused smile.

"This is a waste of time..." Alwyn sighed in a mixture of quiet frustration and exasperation; shutting his eyes as he lowered his hard-frowning face. The amused Theralin merely uttered a light giggle at his expense as she watched.

Taking great care, just as he was instructed by his new acquaintance, Link furrowed his brow in concentration; carefully extracting the brown parchment with his right fingers, grasping the glass bottle with his left. Placing the small jar inside the top half of his tunic, the blonde youth frowned as he used both hands to hold the similarly modest-sized paper. When he realised it was a letter however, his curiosity was piqued.

Help me!

I am waiting for you inside of Lord Jabu Jabu's belly.

-Ruto

P.S.: Don't tell me my father!

"So, any luck?"

Realising the voice calling over was Theralin's, Link raised his blinking eyes to face the two Zoras swimming alongside him. He couldn't help but put on a light grin when he caught the marginally interested frown on Alwyn's face.

This would be a killer, he thought.


	19. Swim or Drown

Chapter 19: Swim or Drown  
Hunt for the River's Sovereign Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Inside Jabu Jabu's Belly" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

With a brief misunderstanding Link and Navi both meet up and fight with the gruff Zoran warrior Alwyn in the beginning of their ride to Zora's Domain. Though the skirmish appears to be close in relative skill between the two hardened fighters, Link manages to take engagement and with lots of energy to spare; thanking to his run up Death Mountain, Goron City and their Great Fairy.

Also meeting up with the travelling Talon and Malon of Lon Lon Ranch Navi, Link and Kaepora all discover that they share a destination with the farm-living two; having left with a wagon full of deliveries such as milk and cheese, they offer a seat to the tired group of heroes. Eternally thankful, Link and Navi of course take the offer gratefully.

Oddly enough however, Link notes that while they travel through Zora's River and even their domain itself, Alwyn receives some strange and even mystifying greetings. Adding it up with his hard and quiet demeanour, the green-garbed Kokiri can only theorise as to the esoteric Zoran knight, especially with his brutal-looking head-fin injury.

With some surprising generosity however, Alwyn opts to use his influence to introduce the Kokiri boy and his guardian fairy. In spite of this though having had his daughter, the esteemed Zoran princess Ruto gone missing, king Zora De Bon XVI informs the group that he cannot part with their royal treasure the Zora's Sapphire simply because she is missing. When pressed, they discover that she herself is holding onto the Zora's Spiritual Stone.

With very little leads, De Bon sends the group south in the direction of Lake Hylia. It is while there however that Link, Alwyn and Navi make an amazing discovery. Meeting up with an old friend of Alwyn's, a Zoran woman by the name of Theralin, she informs the group of a glass bottle that had drifted off seemingly as if from no-where. Upon further inspection, Link and Navi discover there is a very letter from the missing Zoran princess stuffed inside the small jar.

Help me!

I am waiting for you inside of Lord Jabu Jabu's belly.

-Ruto

P.S.: Don't tell my father!

When learning this new significant development Alwyn, Theralin, Link and Navi opt to return to the Zora's Domain itself to inform the ocean king himself...

\--

Scene 1

Letting out the long-held breath he had held within, Link's widened blue-sky eyes stared directly upward at the ceiling above; a few stalactites made of the similarly rocky surface of the ceiling pointed back down as he stared upward.

We're in Zora's Domain, he thought.

"I'm alive!"

With that relieved thought, the youth couldn't help but utter out a shaky sigh as he shut his eyes and lowered his blonde head.

Having agreed to return to the Zora's Domain, Alwyn and Theralin both surprised the pair of heroes by opting to travel via the sea itself; in a surprising move, it appeared that the stone platform they had searched around in Lake Hylia was also coincidentally a shortcut designed for Zoran swimmers.

Handy but shocking indeed.

Merely thankful for his life being intact, the youth grumbled as he stepped out of the water behind him. Shaking his body as if like an animal to rid himself of the irritating liquid he put on a similarly irked frown.

"Fairy boy! You're back!"

Surprised a second time, the blonde youth snapped his eyes upward and widened them in alarm when he realised who the voice belonged to. The wide-smiling Malon rushed at him, her little feet pattering beneath her usual bright white dress.

Oh no, he thought.

Not while I'm wet like this.

He let out an expected light grunt as she suddenly collided with him in a jubilant hug and, inevitably, a wince as he felt her suddenly flinch from contact.

He didn't like the feeling either.

"Ew!" The fire-haired girl exclaimed as she abruptly pulled her embrace from him, frowning in a curious blink down at him. "You're all... wet!"

"We're just back from Lake Hylia." Navi answered for him, ever at his side. When the frowning Malon turned her inquisitive look on the standing Link he offered to smile softly in an affirming nod back at her. Almost as if cued by the guardian fairy's very words, the two Zoras they travelled with stepped forth to join them. Ever carrying the unsocial glower upon his expression, the firm-faced Alwyn stepped into frame, joined by his comrade the smiling Theralin trailing behind him. Noticing the children's staring, the stoic-faced Zoran warrior briefly turned to eye the pair before turning his nose up at them.

"Hmph..."

With that, he strode past the group of three, leaving the neutral-faced Link staring (and thinking) after him, joined only by his companion Theralin. The blonde boy couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he surveyed the defensive knight.

I wonder why he's the way he is, Link thought.

In complete contrasting comparison his companion in Death Mountain, Barkner, was a lovely jovial man especially for a Goron.

Maybe it has something to do with that head-fin injury of his?

Maybe it's none of my business...

~

"So what even happened out there?" Malon pressed him; the young Kokiri, realising she was addressing him in particular, turned his frown into a light sociable smile to respond with.

"More than Alwyn at least expected," Link shot back in a light laugh. "We found a pretty sizeable clue as to where the king's daughter is."

Malon's eyebrow rose upward, curiosity striking her expression as the two children walked forward through the dark and winding cave before them. "Yeah?"

"Mr. genius here decided to read a nasty old letter from a bottle," Navi interjected into the conversation, hovering next to them. "It looks as if there's a creature by the name of Jabu Jabu somewhere in this place and she's inside it." The guardian fairy wisely extrapolated, a business-like frown in the tone of her words.

"So we can infer from Princess Ruto's letter, yeah..." Link couldn't help but grin very lightly as he eyed the hovering blue ball of light to his right.

"Another princess?" Malon began, a similarly teasing grin adorned on her expression; Link's own smirk was lost to him in favour of a surprised frown. She playfully pushed him by his right shoulder; alarmed by the sudden force she put into it, he had to catch himself with his left boot before turning back to face her. "You're just collecting 'em at this point..."

"Oh it's nothing like that..."

"Oh yeah we'll see." Malon shot back, her eternal grin still plastered on her face; she raised her red-haired head to the side as she eyed him carefully. The two stopped moving and even Navi had to turn around to watch them, an unsure frown behind her blue light. Eventually, after the odd period of silence, the pair erupted into full-blown laughter.

Though the guardian fairy was fully aware of the very obvious chemistry between her charge and the Lon Lon Ranch's farm girl she had to admit she was growing very worried at the speed in which they were moving.

Especially in how that Link of all people seemed not to notice it.

When the two finally stopped however and continued their pace up the winding stone floor they walked upon, the two children kept the smiles on their faces. Perhaps waiting for the right moment, or as spontaneous as he always was, Link changed his child-like grin into the well-meaning smile he was seemingly known for. He faced her as the darkness of the underside hit both of their expressions.

"Malon..."

His serious tone, in spite of his amiable smile, made the grin on the fire-haired girl's face dissipate into an interested frown.

"When Navi and I find Princess Ruto and get their sapphire for Zelda in Hyrule Castle, we can go back home," the little Kokiri explained his final arrangements, his sociable smile still resting on his soft expression. "I... hope I'm not out of line when I ask you this but..."

"Yes...?"

Similarly curious, the listening Malon very carefully slipped her hand into the smiling Link's own right. Feeling her fingers mingle with his own he blinked down at them before re-facing her with another coy smile.

"When Navi and I go back to Kokiri Forest...," he started, temporarily lowering his eyes before slowly re-raising them to face her carefully. "Would... would you come with us...?"

Seemingly seeing right through his very sentence and sensing the defensive wording he used, Malon softly squeezed his hand within her own to reaffirm his security.

"Of course," she returned in a similarly cushioned tone of voice before finishing her sentence. "I'd love to."

Genuinely shocked by her agreement, Link could only stare back in a shocked and wide-eyed frown.

In all seriousness, the blonde youth had easily expected her to turn him down.

Almost as if sensing his negative thoughts, and a second time at that, the smiling girl stepped closer to him; surprised and realising her intentions, Navi turned to fly off up the winding stone hill behind her to offer the pair some well-appreciated privacy

The darkness in the underside of the tiny cave made it tough to see but, with his exceptional eyesight, Link could catch the affection in Malon's similarly sky-blue eyes as she approached him. For the second time in their friendship, Malon leaned forward in their similar height to brush her lips softly with his.

–

2

"Did you mean what you said?"

Link couldn't help but blink out of his thoughts, Navi's sudden question making the young blonde raise his head in her direction.

"Huh?"

"Did you really mean what you told her?" Navi reaffirmed her query as she hovered down to better face him. Her cerulean light illuminated the dark stone staircase corridor they marched up, their destination, king Zora's chamber. "About coming back to the Kokiri Forest I mean?"

"O-Oh," Link murmured back in realisation, slowly turning his oceanic eyes from hers. "Um... well... of course, but..."

"Do you have feelings for her?"

"Navi...," the young boy chuckled back out nervously; his words a calm and cheery warning. "Come on now."

"Well I have noticed Link," the guardian fairy pointed out as she followed him up along the steps. "It's not exactly been a secret to anyone with how you are in public."

In spite of his usual politeness, Link felt a sudden surge of annoyance wash over him; he rolled his blue eyes back at her in response, a newly irritated frown adorned as he did.

"How are you going to explain her to Saria? Aren't you two also close?" Navi continued. Her words, though uttered with a helpful intention, came out in a confrontational tone. "And have you thought about-?"

"No!" Link suddenly blurted back hotly, his brow furrowing in a clear sign of antagonism; as a result, the pair's advance up the staircase had, by now, halted and Navi found herself hovering a little back from him as they did. "I mean...," he began again, lowering his oceanic eyes in what felt like doubt taking hold of his voice. "I don't know; I haven't thought that far ahead..." The boy admitted, turning his blonde head away from hers. Seemingly drove on by his sincerity and unsure tone, Navi re-opened her mouth and moved a little closer to speak to him.

"You still care about Saria, don't you."

It was a statement, rather than a question as seemingly intended.

Link found his unsure firm frown twitching in response; a sign of affirmation.

"And yet you also have these feelings for Malon."

This time the boy's hardened frown softened into a low-eyed sad one.

"Navi...," he started in reply, slowly rising his cerulean orbs up to face the similar coloured guardian fairy, almost as if to be judged. "Am I a bad person?"

"No," she chuckled back at him merrily, shaking her blue body in emphasis. "You're just young; that's all."

With her words washing over his doubtful form, he found his frown slowly morphing back into a soft and grateful smile.

"Just give it time; I'm sure that, eventually, you'll have the answers you're looking for," she advised on further. "Things like these have a tendency to work themselves out if you're just patient."

"You're surprisingly wise y'know." Link prodded with a light grin, resuming his pace up the steps. Navi shot him her own smirk as she followed with him.

"Come on; let's go hand this letter in."

~

"And that's the gist of it your highness."

"I see..."

As the pair strolled into the throne room it appeared they had walked straight into the ending of a conversation between the kneeling Alwyn and the sitting king Zora. Half-expecting to find Theralin resting somewhere nearby, Link was surprised when he found the chamber near empty.

"Ahh... welcome, young Link and Navi of the Kokiri Forest," King Zora De Bon greeted with a low raise to his frown, decorating his face with a smile. "Alwyn was just describing how your visit to Lake Hylia went..."

Realising what they were talking about, the young blonde rose his eyebrows in recognition before striding forward and reaching into his tunic for the very letter they were referring to. Even as he stepped up to the stone podium in which Alwyn rested his knee on however, the knowing Zoran knight shot him an annoyed scowl. Link double-took in the man's direction before, eventually, the ocean warrior grunted as he smacked the boy's head comically in an effort to lower his form. Becoming aware of his man's need to stand on ceremony, king Zora merely chuckled good-naturedly as he shook his head at the pair.

"Don't fret so much my son," the larger and more relaxed Zoran smiled as he waved off their attempts to bend the knee at him. "I could hardly care about etiquette at a time like this."

Link couldn't resist but to shoot the hard-frowning Alwyn a victory smirk. As they rose to their feet however the annoyed Zoran shot the child-like boy a similarly irritated scowl; Link humorously flinched as he was, leaning back in his standing position.

"Could I possibly see that letter Alwyn mentioned...?"

Acknowledging that the calm king's tone was addressing him, Link turned his newly blinking frown over to meet his before smiling and reaching for the parchment. Acting on instinct, Navi grasped it seemingly with a strange magical Aegir-like energy; hovering up toward the sitting Zoran king she handed it over.

"Thank you," he smiled in the guardian fairy's shining blue direction before soon regaining his thoughtful frown. "Ahh... just as I feared," the man began, slowly shutting his indigo eyes as he squeezed his hands across the paper softly. "My dear Ruto has taken to the idea of trying to help our guardian deity, Lord Jabu Jabu, by entering him to help heal whatever illness he is suffering from."

Surprised by his wording and the very feats in which they entailed, Link found himself exchanging an unsure raised eyebrow with the similarly curious-faced Navi.

"I... apologise if this sounds like a stupid question...," the young Kokiri began in response, a light chuckle on his lips. "But... how...?"

This time his words managed to catch the attention of both the listening Alwyn and the very monarch he was speaking to; in spite of his earlier opening they both stared at him as if they were asked something very foolish indeed.

Link resisted the extremely strong incentive to roll his eyes and awaited their inevitable answers.

–

3

"Whoa..."

RUMBLE... GROAN...

Link could only wince at the strong vibrations the huge lumbering creature before him gave off with its mere sounds of groans and moans. Seemingly a fish-like creature in classification, the divine being dressed in what seemed to be royal Zoran wear appeared to be the guardian deity described by its king; Lord Jabu Jabu.

"I've already searched most of this area...," Alwyn spoke as he marched slowly past the frowning Link, catching his attention. His steps gave off a strange aftersound as he walked; something he carried in common with his fellow compatriot Zoras. "Whatever that parasite did to Lord Jabu Jabu... no-one's been able to work it out."

Link's ocean-blue eyes narrowed as he listened.

There's that word again, he thought.

'Parasite'.

Who was he referring to?

"Mr. Alwyn, sir...," Link began in addressing as he frowned over at the Zoran knight to his top-left; in response, the oceanic creature about-turned to face him. "When you say... 'parasite'... who exactly are you talking about?"

Alwyn's eyes narrowed harshly, almost as if he were recalling a deep and dark memory. "A few days ago a man came to visit our people claiming to be King Daphnes' delegate," he explained very briefly before continuing. "I think it was him that did this to Lord Jabu Jabu when King Zora refused to hand over the Zora's Sapphire."

"Did you... happen to catch his name...?" Link ventured to ask, raising a suspicious blonde eyebrow upward.

Alwyn shook his head in disinclination. "No," he answered before going on. "Tall man... red hair and peculiar armour; I've never seen anything quite like it."

That has to be him, Link thought. The one that princess Zelda is afraid of.

Ganondorf.

Returning his attention to the matter at hand however, Link tossed all notions of the intimidating Gerudo king from his thoughts and pressed on forward to join his new companion.

"How... are we going to do this?" Link opted to question, furrowing his brow contemplatively, examining the humongous creature breathing heavily before him. "I mean how did Ruto get in there?"

"That's Princess Ruto." Alwyn's firm and frowning tone corrected.

"Uh, yeah; sorry." Link half-smiled apologetically, a sheepish tone to his voice.

"That's a secret I imagine," the Zoran knight finally answered as he stepped forward to kneel at the great beast's mouth. "She's never told anyone how she does it; even her father."

"Well that just leaves us no-where...," Link sadly sighed out as he leaned his body to the side; folding his arms and crossing his right foot across his standing left, the young Kokiri similarly crossed his frown into a thoughtful expression indeed. "I mean how are we going to-?"

"Link."

The blonde blinked in a light jolt, turning his cerulean vision up to face his guardian fairy.

"Do you still have that fish you caught?"

Blinking a second time he shook his head before soon nodding back in response. "W-Well yeah but I was gonna cook that."

"Put it down."

Watching the blue ball of light to his top right, Link uncrossed his arms and legs before resting them on his hips thoughtfully.

What's her game, he thought.

Listening in, Alwyn perked his ears up and narrowed his eyes in their direction, watching and waiting. Sure enough the frowning Link went into the recesses of his forest-garbed tunic for one of his precious bottles; inside, just as described, was a much smaller fish.

Was Navi maybe hoping it would open its mouth to eat it...?

At least she has a plan, he thought; have to give her that.

Bending to her ever knowledgeable will, Link walked forward before pulling the cork on the small jar in his possession. Temporarily shutting his left eye, as if fearing any after-effects, the youth finally turned the bottle upside down to drop its contents.

SPLASH-FLAP-FLAP-FLAP

A period of uneventful seconds passed between the group of three; Link couldn't help but exchange an unsure frown with the watching and silent Alwyn. The inevitable painful flapping the poor small bass gave out beneath them made the listening Link feel for it.

Maybe I shouldn't have did this, he thought.

"Navi are you sure that-?"

Suddenly, and with surprising force, Jabu Jabu's huge hungry mouth opened up. Though slow in nature, its strength was impressive indeed; particles in the air formed from the sheer power it commanded. The flapping fish was, at first, easily sucked in and devoured by the humongous creature; both Alwyn and Link widened their eyes when they both realised Jabu Jabu was a creature with instincts, just like any other.

It was going to eat them.

"Turn back!"

In spite of the alarmed Zoran knight's call, he was inevitably pulled in toward the large animal-like deity. With a surprised scream he turned his arm toward the gasping Link in a final effort to catch himself; unfortunately for him and the young Kokiri, Link missed him by a bare inch. Disappearing into the abyss of Jabu Jabu's insides the horrified Link realised Navi was also no-where in sight.

She was eaten as well.

Though he channelled his Aegir to his Kokiri boots in an attempt to keep his ground, his valiant effort was eventually thwarted by Jabu Jabu's monstrous strength; ripped from the stone surface he stood on, numerous rocks spat up from the sheer force with which he was pulled from. With a final scream of his own Link turned his eye toward the exit of Zora's Fountain before, finally, Jabu Jabu's jaw shut tight on him.

DROOM

~

The air felt as nauseous as he did; Link could barely quell the horrible feelings washing over his body. Disorientation hit him squarely in his insides and even his outsides as he slowly raised up his blonde head. The ground looked – and felt – oddly squishy; feeling its pinkish sponge beneath him, the youth's thoughts slowly rose to prominence. Similarly odd sounds began to encircle and surround his presence; the young Kokiri surveyed the area and found himself even further confused.

Where am I, he thought.

The most conspicuous sight before him was a huge jade-shaded organ that seemed to be, otherwise, out of place. Resting on the highest of the two platforms in front of him, the endlessly pulsing organ rotated as high as into the ceiling. Strangely, it gave off oddly lightning-like aesthetics; even as he stared up at it, transfixed, it rotated silently to match the green flash it gave off as it did.

"Don't move."

The youth, surprised, snapped his oceanic eyes to his left. The wavy outline of the platform he lay on slowly began to take hold and, with it, the form of what appeared to be a person. A dreamlike quality began to overtake them when he watched their mouth open; a female voice and one he recognised.

Emerald hair, a Kokiri skirt and attire to match.

"Saria...?" He breathed up at her in a visible wince.

"What?!" She suddenly shot back at him, her tone almost as if insulted somehow. "No!"

Soon, the youth felt his surroundings morph alongside the form of the person before him; instead of his familiar childhood friend, a new body took hold.

Though she was human in size and even form, he began to see similarities to the very ocean-like people he had conversed with mere hours ago.

Resting her fin-like arms across her small hips, the female Zoran glowered down at him, an annoyed look in her pinkish ruby-like eyes. Though she was similar to the other Zoras he had encountered, one big difference he noted was the strange shape of her head; a larger one than the otherwise slim ones he had witnessed before.

Feeling returned to the rest of his body and, realising his awkward positioning, grunted lightly as he pulled himself up to his feet.

"S-Sorry... I thought you were... someone else." Link apologised, an awkward tone to his voice as he rose himself up to face the girl.

"I should hope so!" The girl shot back, leaning her hard-eyed posture forward at him in an almost dominating gesture. "You speak to royalty boy! Not just a nobody by the name of 'Saria'..." She further insulted as she pulled herself back to raise her nose up at him, an odd kind of vanity about her. In response and realising she was basically insulting not only him but his greatest friend, Link found his initially apologetic aspect adjust to a disapproving hard frown.

"Would you happen to be the Zoran princess...?" The young Kokiri ventured to ask, narrowing a single eye at her in half-suspicion. Almost as if cued somehow by his words, the girl's firm frown soon switched to a wry and smug grin.

"I'm glad you're not so uncouth as not to notice...," she returned, raising her arms to fold them in a superior sort of smirk. Link, completely unamused by the young girl's antics, stared back at her in an annoyed facial contortion of his own. "Hear my name and tremble human boy! I am ocean princess Ruto of the glorious Zoran race!"

"Uh huh," the listening Link merely huffed back disinterestedly before placing a hand on his own hip as he turned his blue eyes around the area, presumably in search for something. "Did you happen to see anyone else around here or-?"

"Highly doubtful."

Darting his eyes back in her interrupting direction, Link found himself narrowing them as he listened further. The newly introduced princess Ruto stood watching him in the same pompous smile she wore earlier. A small and strange period of silence began between the pair, leaving the frowning Link unsure on what to say. Perhaps to fill the space, he opened his mouth to respond to her.

"What do you m-?"

"What do you think I mean you feckless ingrate?" Ruto fired back, interrupting him a second time, and seemingly enjoying it into the bargain. "You were the only person I've seen being ingested by Lord Jabu Jabu." Her insult, though seemingly a reflex action, had not gone unnoticed; the hard-eyed Link watched her carefully for a few seconds before finally absconding and turning around to leave.

Maybe I can find Navi and Alwyn by myself, he thought.

"Stay here." He threw over his green-garbed shoulder.

"W-Where do you think you're going?!"

Halting in his march, the frowning boy turned to face her; an annoyed frown present on his face.

"To find my friends," he merely answered in his firm-eyed frown. "They were eaten alongside me."

"And you were gonna just leave me?!"

Finding her sudden switch to anger made the listening youth upturn his frown into a wry grin.

"You seem like you got everything under control." He shot over in his confident grin.

"Well I most certainly do not!" Ruto shrieked back at him, perhaps angry at his attitude. Seemingly attempting to reign back in control of the conversation, she stepped toward him and folded her arms a second time at him. "I demand you take me with you!"

Oh joy, the Kokiri thought, his grin soon dropping in favour of a disappointed frown to match his similarly dejected ruminations.

"Navi... Alwyn... I hope you two are doing better than I am..."

–

4

"Wake up! Alwyn!"

"Rngh..."

The fallen Zoran knight felt as out of place as a combatant in a kitchen; though his body was hurting from the sense of pain he felt from earlier, his memory failed to recall why.

Whose voice even was that?

It was... familiar.

"Alwyn, please don't be gone!"

Raising his heavy-feeling head, the Zoran man attempted to view his surroundings with very little success; unfortunately for him, a dreamlike wavy quality covered the area he lay in.

But it was one he recognised all the same.

Burning fields of green littered the battlefield he rested in.

No, he thought.

Not here.

This has to be a dream.

"Alwyn! Get up!"

Grunting in a mixture of pain and effort, the Zoran warrior did as the voice suggested and pulled himself up to his feet. His vision slowly began to stabilise and, as it did, he began to make out the outline of a man his size charging him. Alwyn's eyes widened and he recognised the armour and lance he bore.

A Hyrulean knight.

"No, get away from me...," Alwyn murmured out disbelievingly, eyes narrowing at the approaching Hylian knight. When he began to make his final approach, Alwyn soon noted oddly that particles of lightning coming off of him. "Get away!"

Something inside (and outside) snapped within the Zoran warrior; the dreamlike quality of the field before him morphed just as quickly as he jerked his defensive attack in response. Swinging his two arms horizontally, the fins on his limbs became blade-like in depth and quality before both shooting as if arrows from a bow. Unlike the aforementioned projectiles however, after they collided roughly into the newly changed form before him.

SQUISH-CRACK

As his Zoran boomerang blades sliced into it, Alwyn finally got a look at what it was; a very odd sea-like creature but one he recognised from years of swimming.

A Biri.

"What in the name of-?"

Alwyn's bewildered murmur was left echoing into the darkened space of his stature. Eventually, just as with the fallen Biri before him, the area itself began to change as well.

He now stood around what seemed to be the insides of a creature; a pool of water lay below him and the walls around his person seemed to be a pinkish-red in colour and shade.

Memories returned to him and he realised where he was.

That's right, he thought; we had been eaten by Lord Jabu Jabu in our search for princess Ruto.

So whose voice was-?

"Are you okay?"

Turning his head 'round to his left side he caught the sight of the familiar blue ball of light; Link's guardian fairy, Navi.

"Navi...," he greeted in his ever hard frown; the Zoran warrior's nerves began to settle as he faced her. "Where's the boy?"

"You mean Link?" She breathed over at him worriedly, shaking her light back at him in disinclination "I think we've been separated in the fall."

"Hrm...," he hummed thoughtfully, kneeling forward to stare both down at the puddle of water below the inclination of pinkish flesh he stood on and the rib-shaped walls. "Well, given I've already searched the majority of Zora's River and Fountain...," he began before briskly re-raising himself up to his feet. "This would logically be the last place within our banner to search anyway." He finished lightly, clenching his fists together as he narrowed his eyes as if for effect before soon marching forward. Realising he wasn't stopping for her, Navi took off suddenly to catch up with the marching Zoran.

"C-Careful... there are some Shabom lurking around here..." The little guardian fairy advised as she hovered next to him.

Sure enough some rainbow-like bubble of what appeared to be water of all things floated aimlessly around the hard-frowning Zoran warrior. Alwyn didn't even pay them any mind; with a firm-eyed scowl he merely continued his march forward toward the noticeable flesh-like door ahead of him.

"W-Wait Alwyn; the door's locked!"

Just as she spoke a second time, this time the listening man rose his eyebrows in recognition; shooting his head up to narrow at what seemed to be a high-placed appendage.

Perhaps that was the switch?

The rainbow-shaded Shaboms however had other plans; hovering threateningly around the Zoran's person, they seemed to want to prevent him from moving any further.

"Damn small fry..."

With those words muttered out, the shut-eyed Alwyn merely shot his extended-fin arms skyward; crossing them, he stood stoically silent for a few seconds. Suddenly however the former Zoran knight flashed open his freshly widened eyes and, with them, a new technique. Navi's own eyes widened in veneration as she bore witness to an unnatural kind of electricity stream from the similar-faced Alwyn's body. Seemingly done with a special kind of Aegir, Alwyn made quick and seemingly easy work of the surrounding bubbles of water that threatened the pair; they all popped as they came into contact with the light aura of lightning.

"That's amazing Alwyn!" Navi called over, a morale-raised smile upon her invisible expression. She dashed over mid-air to join the arm-lowering warrior. "I didn't realise Zoras could do that!"

"Hmph...," he merely huffed back in response, placing his right hand to rest on his hip. "They can't; it's a unique trait of mine."

"Oh wow," Navi frowned, her initial cheer doused by her new partner's low attitude. "I don't suppose you'll tell me where you learned it from?"

CLICK

Surprising the little fairy, the noise filled the gap of air in between the pair; she flinched and shot her head up to find the yellow coloured low hanging switch now pulled further into the pink ceiling above them. Seemingly having been thrown during his earlier assault, Alwyn's boomerang blade fins came rotating through the air to meet him; with expert control, he shut his eyes as he rose his arms up to catch them.

FWIP

Even as they continued moving toward the door before them, Navi knew he was not intending to open up to her or even respond at all.

"I guess this is just a temporary partnership to him."

Though she felt a little guilty for feeling this way she didn't imagine she was wrong either; with the way Alwyn played his cards so close to his chest he had probably been hurt in the past.

Probably better I don't prod at him, she thought.

Still though...

"I hope we find Link soon..."

Her reflections, though worried, weren't entirely unfounded; the horrible memories of finding their Goron companion Barkner in Dodongo's Cavern resurfaced.

That cannot happen again, she thought.

Given how equally strong both Link and Alwyn were in their last duel, it was anyone's guess who would win in an all-out fight to the death. Although Link was a mere mild-mannered young boy, the dark entity living inside of him was not.

Kage Narumono was always an uncertainty.

~

Marching through the pinkish-red corridor he walked through, Link oceanic eyes darted forward in the direction of the slow-moving Shabom ahead. Shame Navi's not here, he thought.

They are just air bubbles though, aren't they?

If that's the case...

"Hey!"

His mind, wrenched right out of his thoughts by the interrupting high-pitched voice above him, lowered in morale with the similarly low-eyed frown on his face.

Princess Ruto's voice.

"I hope you're not planning on fighting those things while you're carrying me!" The Zoran sovereign warned with an akin harsh narrow of her eyes down at the youth below her.

True enough, Ruto lay atop the boy's green-capped head, lifted by his arms and resting on the palms of his hands.

"Well... your highness...," Link began, a mocking low tone to his voice as he briefly shut his eyes in a contorted smile before soon re-opening them as he raised them to face her. "Maybe if I do this..." He started again, taking great care to lower his body as he placed the sitting Zoran girl down next to him. Leaving his sentence hanging in the air, he shot her a knowing grin; seemingly also realising the meaning behind his expression, Ruto merely folded her arms and turned her face away from his.

"Hmph!"

Link rolled his eyes and turned to leave toward the group of six Shabom. Setting his sights and his mentality into a battle one, the youth narrowed his sky-blue eyes forward.

I could probably slice them with the Kokiri Sword, he thought.

But then Navi would no doubt tell me that'd be far too dangerous.

Acting as a compromise, the blonde youth reached into his tunic and produced a Deku Nut.

Let's see if this works, he thought.

Raising his right arm to hover horizontally across his eyes safely, he rose the Deku Nut high above his head with his left before soon cannoning it down forward.

FLASH

As the Shabom hovered 'round his person threateningly they all suffered the same fate under the sudden burst of light the Deku Nut provided. Re-opening his blue eyes to grace his satisfied smile with, Link nodded in happiness as he tossed 'round and up a spare Deku Nut he carried in case the last had malfunctioned somehow.

"That was foolish!"

Rolling his eyes a second time upon recognising the high-pitched tone of voice addressing him, Link staved off the urge to sigh as he listened further.

"What would happen if that flash hit me?!"

Turning to march back toward the royal princess, Link merely put on a business-like frown to his expression opting not to respond to her at all.

Give her nothing, he thought; she's just looking for an argument.

"And why don't you have a shield?" She scowled up at him as he bent down to pick her up, a similar frown on his face. "What kind of knight has no shield?"

"I'm not a knight."

Surprised by his sudden response, Ruto blink atop his arms, lowering her frown down at him.

"H-Huh?"

"I said I'm not a knight." He reiterated, a low and visibly annoyed tone to his voice.

"O-Oh," she murmured out before soon re-asserting herself. "I knew that! An adventurer then?"

"Yep." Link sighed back as the pair 'rounded a corner to the right.

"Just as I thought," Ruto added smugly, re-folding her arms with a return to her self-satisfied side. "You caught my letter and hope for a reward; is that it?"

With yet another roll of his eyes Link opened his mouth to retort. "Something like that."

"Hmph! You're all the same; so easily predictable," the Zoran princess shot back as she smirked superiorly. "I figure all you're looking for is- Eek!"

Suddenly wrenched from her own words, the pair dropped down from their platform, pulling her out of her sentence. Turning to survey her new surroundings she found herself in what appeared to be a mid-size pit of water; a climbable wall to their hard right rested far next to them and a single yellow-shaded switch lay in the centre. With a hardened frown Link merely tossed the young girl nonchalantly to his right side, narrowing his blue eyes across at his new surroundings.

"Agh!" Ruto gasped out as she fell to the ground; though she experienced no real pain, the discomfort was enough to send shock-waves of annoyance through her system. The little Zoran princess placed her arms across her hips at him angrily. "How dare you! I should report you for that!"

"Sh...," the youth murmured out, his eyes narrowed suspiciously to his left. They soon darted in the exact opposite direction however; Ruto found her annoyance slowly dissipating and her arms dropped alongside her newly curious frown as she watched. "We're being surrounded."

"H-Huh...?" She murmured back in response; suddenly feeling very vulnerable, the girl shuffled herself closer to the blonde boy before her. Grabbing his right arm close to hers she turned her worried eye on her own right, her earlier attitude having switched completely with danger involved.

Attempting to ignore the Zoran princess' frustrating hold on him, the young boy focused his Aegir in preparation for the inevitable attack he felt was incoming.

Something – he wasn't sure what exactly – was festering its horrible killing intent in the air around their position. Though he could feel it himself he wished Navi was nearby.

She would have been able to locate his enemies' positions easily.

But like this I have to wait for them to move first, he thought dejectedly.

Almost as if sensing his very anxiety-filled thoughts, a group of four odd flying creatures shot up from the ground in all four corners of the arena; water splashed up to meet them and Link snapped his head in one direction to examine one. Designed primarily like a fish it, strangely, managed to keep its pace in the air.

They actually flew.

Can they really be considered fish then, Link debated with himself inwardly.

"Focus on the fight."

With that thought ending his short-lived discussion, the youth reacted almost immediately when he felt the Stinger on his right rush for him in a deft dive-bomb assault. Widening his oceanic eyes, the little Kokiri very quickly yanked his weapon out from its sheath on his back before diagonally hacking it in his similarly fast-approaching enemy's direction.

SLICE-SCREECH

With a painful-sounding scream, the first Stinger was sent careering and bleeding back in great physical agony; deep-cobalt blood flew through the air with it in pursuit as it spun across the air. Though Ruto squealed in terror as she gripped at her guardian's right arm he managed to keep her safe from harm. Perhaps sensing the pair's vulnerability however, the remaining three Stingers all dove for them both, crimson-fiery eyes focused heavily on the children.

"Tch...!"

Dotting the air with his annoyed frown, Link grunted as he pushed the squealing Ruto off of his right arm to free himself. With a worried yell, the Zoran princess tumbled harmlessly to the watery ground behind her, leaving her saviour free to defend himself. With lightning-like reflexes, the narrow-eyed Kokiri short-hopped toward the dashing Stinger on his left; standing on it directly below him he grunted lightly as he somersault kicked it in the direction of a second Stinger behind him.

Successful in his counter-attack, he watched very briefly in his forward-flip as the pair of fish-like creatures screeched together in their charge; both screaming as they collided, they dropped to the ground defeated. His cerulean eyes widened however when he saw the final Stinger make a beeline for the fallen princess Ruto.

"No!"

Rolling defensively forward, Link sheathed his Kokiri Sword and reached into his tunic for his Fairy Slingshot. Spinning his body 'round to face his rear as he rolled he widened his eyes as he aimed a seed between the alarmingly quick Stinger and the laying Zoran sovereign.

"Please, Deku Tree... don't make me miss..."

With his silent plea to his fallen deity, Link let loose his lifeline; it flew at an even faster rate than the dive-bombing Stinger. Time slowed down for the watching blonde boy; he could only watch in horrified widened eyes.

Eventually, however, the Deku Seed made contact.

SPLAT-SCREECH

Link's heart-rate slowly began to settle and the rest of his body loosened up when he witnessed the Stinger slowly rise up before eventually dropping; a sign of defeat.

Thank the Deku Tree, he thought.

Catching up with the current events of the situation, princess Ruto blinked as she shot her head up and surveyed her surroundings as if for any of the enemies she was previously worried about. Sure enough, having been cleaned out, the young girl stood back up and dusted herself off but not without a newly hardened scowl.

"Hmph!" She began, about-turning to face the slow-recovering Link; even as he moved back up to a standing position to pocket his Fairy Slingshot. Ruto glowered over at him as she marched toward him, visibly angry at him. Unprepared for her, the frowning Link re-raised his light frown to face her scowl, obviously unsure.

"Wha-?"

SMACK

Surprised, the little blonde found similarly shocking force being put behind what felt like a stinging slap to his cheek; his head was wrenched in his far-right by the princess' right hand. Sure enough, she stood in a firm-scowling glare, her lower lip quivering to match the odd tear-stain on her left eye-duct. Shocked at the sudden assault more than anything, Link drew his eyes back to stare at her in a bewildered frown, unsure on what to say.

"I was so scared...!" The little Zoran hissed out as she glared back at the baffled boy before her, an odd kind of fury behind her additionally melancholic eyes. "Why would you put me at risk like that...?!"

"I-" Link began at first, attempting to reason with the irate princess; unfortunately for him however, no discernable words managed to leave his racing mind and open mouth. Though he intended to reply, something in her eyes made him doubt even doing that.

Why was she so angry, he thought.

Doesn't she realise I couldn't fight with her gripping my arm like she did?

Maybe she's just very naïve...

Opting instead to turn his head away from hers wordlessly, he stepped around her to examine his surroundings a second time. She watched him and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, ever watching and unusually silent. Looking for a quick way out of the arena he attempted to reach the climbable moss on the wall above him. Sadly for the short boy however he found he was unable to stretch to such a height; Link couldn't help but utter out an annoyed tut as he stared on up at it, cursing his helplessness.

If Navi were here she'd be able to offer me advice, he thought.

Now we're just stuck he-

He double-took when he re-found the yellow-shaded switch in the centre of the arena.

"Of course... how could I forget...?"

Mentally reprimanding himself for his forgetfulness he soon found his heart sinking deep into his stomach when he stepped onto it and realised its weight.

He would not be able to do this by himself.

Raising his head in a hopeful glance at the Zoran princess' direction, he winced ever so slightly only to find her folded-armed and newly scowling once more. Ruto merely swept her glower away from his silent plea, as if in retaliation for something he could not truly remember.

"Hmph!"

Rolling his eyes in response, Link found himself hoping vainly for Navi to return.

Maybe I'll get really lucky and she'll fly in from no-where he thought.

With a defeated sigh Link looked for another way for the group of two to leave the small arena they were stranded in.


	20. The Final Leg - Fight the Summoner Menace!

Chapter 20: The Final Leg - Fight the Summoner Menace!  
Hunt for the River's Sovereign Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Powerful Man from the Darkness" - Dragonball Z: Budokai III OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Raccoon City" - Resident Evil II (2019) OST. Scene 3 (First Half).  
"Looming Dread" - Resident Evil II (2019) OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

In their quest to secure their country's three national treasures, Spiritual Stones, Link, Navi and Kaepora Gaebora find themselves now in the fabled land of tears; the Zora's River and Domain. On the successful journey back from Death Mountain, the heroes have a happy reunion with Talon and Malon of Lon Lon Ranch; seemingly also on a journey of their own to deliver their goods to the Zoran people, they allow safe passage for the pair of brave explorers.

While there they meet and fight with a former ocean knight of the Zoran military forces; Alwyn of the Flickering Blue. Seemingly having mistaken the group to be allies of the hostile Ganondorf of the Gerudo forces, Link manages to clear their intentions up completely and safely. Now travelling together with the stoically silent Zoran warrior Link, Navi and Alwyn join together in an effort to find the missing Zoran princess Ruto.

With a promise granted by the ocean people's king, King Zora De Bon XVI himself, Link's own sky-blue eyes are set directly on the Zora's Sapphire. Having been sent in the southern direction of the large Lake Hylia Alwyn, Link and Navi manage to unearth a bottle and a letter written inside of it of the object of their pursuit. King Zora confirms the handwriting himself and allows the three allies to search the end of the line; Zora's Fountain.

Unfortunately for them however, it leaves them on the wrong end of a dead end; while exploring the fountain they are perhaps, invariably, consumed by the Zoran's deity guardian, the Lord Jabu Jabu. When inside however all three realise they have been separated; in Link's great fortune he finds himself met with the very object of their pursuit, the Zoran princess Ruto. The two attempt to navigate through the insides of Jabu Jabu (with little success to the Kokiri's chagrin) while Alwyn wakes in the mouth of Jabu Jabu himself.

Resolved to meet up with Link, Navi and Alwyn power through the top floors of the dungeon-like arena they now reside in in their final search. Perhaps filled with anxiety on her knowledge of Link's demonic second side, Kage Narumono, Navi can only speculate on how long Link is able to hold him back while he is away from her guiding light. The small guardian fairy can only hope that his will is enough to hold the dark devil back.

She can only hope...

\--

Scene 1

Having marched through the corridor behind them Link and Ruto were in a deathly silent contest for reticence. Since resting in this small platform after the corridor, Link realised he was seemingly the reason for the awkwardness between himself and the Zoran princess.

And yet still he could not fathom as to why.

Though he worked quickly in saving her life not mere minutes earlier in their altercation with a group of Stingers, she reacted in such a strange and violent way to his behaviour that it left the previously nonchalant Kokiri baffled.

"I was so scared...!"

That look on her face when she said those words and the look in her indigo-shaded eye, so soft, he almost forgot she was the irritating brat that he was searching elusively for.

He shook his head as he sat opposite from the Zoran royalty, resting his legs off of the platform to dangle just over the water beneath.

What do I say to her now, he thought helplessly.

"Let's go."

Surprising him with her sudden curt interjection, Link swung his blonde head in her direction with his eyes widened. Sure enough, as he turned, he found her approaching what appeared to be the ending of the platform. Dropping down from the air high above them both seemed to be a second platform; this one with savage looking spikes decorated on the bottom of it. In spite of that detail however, its pinkish-red fleshy surface confirmed its point of safety to the dubious-watching Kokiri.

Following her trail, the blonde boy hopped onto the platform as it dropped down slowly to meet them. With silence ever the barrier between them, Ruto stood in a corner by herself back facing him; he stood watching her briefly, hand clenched at his side before he soon turned his cobalt eyes in search. Finally, as the platform drew them up, Ruto opened her mouth to speak, as if a tour guide of sorts.

"We're about to hit the first floor of Lord Jabu Jabu," she spoke, eliciting the frowning youth to turn his eyes in her direction. "Come on; through here is the chest region." The little Zoran claimed as she hopped forward onto the fleshy-pink balcony-like platform before her. Following her wordlessly Link set his eyes on her, trying to work her new odd behaviour out.

Before she would waste no time in assaulting him with constant silly demands, sometimes outright shrieking at him.

But now...

Now she was just cold all over.

If only Navi was here, he thought.

She might be able to work her out.

Stepping through the tissue-like door after her, Link narrowed his eyes as they entered what appeared to be just as she had described. A small corridor lay in between the exploring pair and, as they marched forward, they got a good look at the further insides; the first noticeable landmark appeared to be a strange pulsating cylinder-like organ. With lightning coiling 'round its rotating form, Link narrowed his oceanic eyes at it suspiciously, watching it twirl endlessly as it reached down one of the open holes in the surface before him.

It definitely looked out of place.

Secondly, three very small but eye-catching fish-like bacteria hovered toward them, all in different positions.

"Don't touch those," Ruto advised, almost as if somehow reading his very mind. Surprised, Link swivelled his wide-eyed frown on her, as if for further words to fill her explanation with. "They're Biri; electric fish that'll shock you if you get close to it."

He nodded silently in response; a quiet acknowledgement of her words of advice.

Sure enough, the rest of the room was a large one indeed; four openings in the ground lay scattered 'round the arena, the final fifth having its long and rotating green organ aforementioned. Link's eyes narrowed at it thoughtfully.

I'll bet anything that's where the infection is, he thought.

Pressing forward in a brisk walk to avoid confrontation with the floating three Biri, Link and Ruto both walked around all four holes to reach the next door ahead of them. As they stepped through however, Link's alarm shot up as he was near suddenly thrown off of his feet.

DROOM

Gasping in similar surprise, the Zoran princess leaned to her left and grasped at the Kokiri boy's right arm for leverage. Managing to keep himself stabilised, Link turned his eye around the small corridor they now stood in as if for some kind of answer for the world-shattering earthquake.

"Something's happening!" Ruto called out, a distressed tone to her voice as she scanned the area similarly.

"That's an understatement..." Link murmured back satirically, watching and listening for further noises. "It sounded like... Jabu Jabu swallowing us from before..."

~

Narrowing his eyes at the fast-approaching tentacle, Alwyn just barely managed to evade its sudden pull forward by ducking his head to his hard-right. Widening his deep-beryl eyes, the Zoran warrior pulled his attacking arms back before cartwheeling to his right in evasion as he let them go; in response, his fins shot forward as if like boomerangs. Swinging ever vertically up into the air, it closed in on the long tentacle's one narrow part of its long body just as it made its pass back to the other end of the battle arena.

"Yes!"

With the watching Navi's excited call of victory, Alwyn's flying fins struck the parasitic tentacle roughly enough to make it screech in seeming agony and retract painfully back into the ceiling.

"Hmph...," Alwyn muttered as he stared on up at the retreating form of his enemy; his blood began to boil when he felt his Aegir stir at the possibility of ending the battle. "I don't think so..."

His words echoed out into the dank atmosphere of the battle arena the two combatants resided in; with that, Alwyn chose to suddenly break into a forward sprint, running for the wall ahead of him. With impressive agility and dexterity he managed to use his Zoran scales to grasp at the breathing and moving wall.

"Alwyn, be careful!"

FWIP

The narrow-eyed scowling Zoran knight in question merely seemed to ignore the worried guardian fairy's voice as he ran endlessly across the walls, his eyes watching the slow-moving parasitic tentacle. He shot up his forearms to catch the flying fins as they fast-tracked their way back to him; seemingly finally also recovering, the sentient tentacle began to very slowly drop from the ceiling as Alwyn's diagonal sprint drew him closer to the top. Just as he expected, the parasitic appendage began to pull its form back to attack him with. Seemingly aiming carefully this time, it watched him intently before moving to accommodate its target's movement.

Widening his eyes and encasing himself in a bright cobalt-coloured Aegir, Alwyn grunted as he suddenly halted his run; the parasitic tentacle shot its body up at the ceiling in an attempt to hit him and, unfortunately for it, missed. With another growl, the former Zoran knight vaulted himself off the wall like an arrow fired from a ballista. Time slowed down for Navi as she watched the narrow-eyed Alwyn whizz past the tentacle's weak spot; its narrow part.

SLICE

Using his fins as if they were swords themselves, their intense sharpness was indeed confirmed by the cacophonous scream the tentacle gave before it slowly devolved into an agonised low-toned bellow. The narrow-eyed Alwyn kept his expression as low as his posture even as he dropped diagonally down toward the ground; skidding across the fleshy floor beneath him, he turned his head over his shoulder to view his handiwork.

Sure enough, the tentacle's only remaining reminder of its existence were clumps of fallen bloody tissue, writhing eerily on the ground. Alwyn couldn't help but put on a satisfied low smirk as he pulled his attacking fins back into his forearms.

"That was incredible Alwyn!" Navi complimented her ally and companion, a bright tone behind her similarly luminous cerulean light. The newly firmly frowning Alwyn turned his body and his head back to face the guardian fairy – and the exit – behind him, marching toward her as he did. "I know you were strong but that was great!" She smiled in his direction as he passed her as stoically as he always did. The little cerulean ball of light broke into a light hovering pursuit. "I've not seen someone move that fast before!"

Opting instead to remain silent as ever, the hard-faced Alwyn stepped through the door with Navi at his side, eyes ever faced forward for his aloof advance.

"Well... anyway...," Navi started again, a frown in her tone; perhaps disappointed at his quiet nature. "If we keep this up I'm sure eventually we'll run into Link and the Zora princess; I bet he's with her even as we speak."

"He better not lay a hand on her...," Alwyn finally chose to speak, narrowing his eyes forward and lowering his head almost as if warning in his inflection. "Or there'll be hell to-"

DROOM

Widening his eyes, the battle-hardened Zoran warrior snapped his head 'round in frantic search for the sudden cacophonous noise echoing through the long chambers of Jabu Jabu's insides.

"What was that?!" Navi exclaimed, a shocked tone to her voice.

"I don't know...," he murmured back in response before slowly turning his eyes to narrow firmly at the single Tailpasaran hiding in the fleshy ground of the chamber ahead. "But I'm going to find out!" The former Zoran knight suddenly shot out with as he broke into an abrupt sprint, head held low to increase the velocity of his run. Realising he wasn't stopping for the poor guardian fairy behind him, Navi's own eyes widened before she shot forward after him, cobalt particles of light following in her wake.

"W-Wait! Alwyn, wait!"

–

2

The sound of something shining echoed so deeply within the chamber that Link was pacing through was so powerful it made him question his own hearing.

Is it coming from that door ahead?

But how?

Unless...?

Perhaps sensing his very thoughts, princess Ruto pressed forward ahead of him, ever frowning firmly as she normally did.

"Come on." She urged over her shoulder, her indigo-shaded eyes shut as she briefly faced him before resuming her march forward.

I don't like this, he thought worriedly as he followed wordlessly behind her ever business-like stride.

As they stepped on inside the room before them however, it was oddly shaped; cylindrical, as if a battle arena of all things. Only a single platform lay in waiting before the pair and the source of the shining noise soon became apparent; the humming navy-coloured stone rotated in place on the very platform ahead. The hairs on the back of Link's neck stood on end as he watched; an odd sense of déjà vu overtaking him.

"R-Ruto I don't think we should..."

"Right there!" The Zoran princess interrupted him as rudely as she had ever done, pointing her finger at the Spiritual Stone before her. She turned to face the blonde Kokiri and curled up on the watery floor. "Toss me up there! Now!"

Narrowing his sky-blue eyes back down at her passionate indigo ones he groaned before reaching down and picking her up. Sure enough and working against his own instincts, he did as she asked and grunted lightly as he threw the young girl up on the platform. Waiting expectantly, he readied himself for a fight of some kind. Princess Ruto let out a surprised yelp as she was sent flying before landing safely on the platform below; uncoiling herself with a light smile she approached the rotating sapphire stone before abruptly double-taking to her right.

"What the-?" She mouthed out, visibly surprised. Watching and, similarly suspicious, Link narrowed his eyes as he re-opened his mouth to speak to her.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"There's...," Ruto began as she raised her right arm up to hover defensively and diagonally across her body, wincing as she did so. "A... person here..."

That surprised him.

"Say what?"

Sure enough, as the young Zoran princess ignored the blonde boy's query – a second time – she advanced very carefully on the fallen form before her. Kneeling down she raised a curious eyebrow down at it, identifying it as a Hylian.

"It's... a girl," she claimed, pulling a face down at her before briefly exchanging her frown with the surprised-expressed Link. "How in the name of Jabu Jabu did she get in here?"

A horrible feeling shot up Link's spine; he gulped down a load of worried saliva as he spoke one final time in an effort alleviate this concern.

"She doesn't have... red hair... does she?"

Ruto blinked back down at him before re-facing the fallen girl below her and nodding. "Yeah...," she began before raising a curious eyebrow a second time and 'rounding it on the boy. "You know her?"

Oh no, Link thought.

Ruto's right; how did she get in here?

Malon if that's really you, then...

"Hold on!" Link shot out with, pressing forward in a hasty rush. "I'm going to-"

RUMBLE...

That terrified feeling that filled the boy's spine began to niggle at his throat before soon dropping to the pit of his stomach; he stopped moving almost immediately when he heard and watched the platform in front of him rumble.

"Agh!" Ruto gasped out, catching herself from falling to her side via her left hand.

Sure enough, just as the spectating Link feared, the platform the pair of girls were seemingly sat on began to rise high into the ceiling.

"No!" Link called on in vain after it, oceanic eyes widened as they followed it hopelessly.

"Get away from me!"

Ruto's irate and bratty voice filled the arena, bouncing off the walls as Link listened intently, hoping in vain for some kind of way up.

Just as he half-expected however, the large fleshy-pink podium came careering back down and with surprising speed and force. Instinctively reaching for his Kokiri Sword, Link set his feet apart for battle and glared forward at the remains waiting for him; atop the terrace stood a dark-chestnut hooded figure, staring back at him. Surprised, the watching forest-boy's brow furrowed and he couldn't help but open his mouth to question the odd form.

"Where are my friends?" He shot over, his tone loud enough to be firm and demanding.

The person seemed to ignore him and reached forward with their right arm; covered entirely by the mahogany-brown of its cloak, Link was only able to witness the pulsing purple-shaded Aegir coming visibly from darkness of the clothing.

What is he doing, the boy thought worriedly.

Is he going to attack?

"Aegir Art...," the figure finally spoke; seemingly a man's voice. The fluctuating Quintessence in his cloak began to intensify, and quickly at that; with a similar rise in his voice he shot his right robed arm skyward before firing it downward to the ground beneath him. "Revivification!"

With a strong flex behind his firm and aged tone, the robed sorcerer made the podium he stood on tremble and with a violence that even the far-off Link had to respect.

DROOM

Grunting as he brought up his sword and defensive arm both up diagonally to block the unnatural wind that blew his way, he narrowed his cerulean eyes past his fingers to bare witness.

Timed perfectly to the synchronisation of the man's seeming technique, a single wooden container somehow shot up from the ground, seemingly called by the man. When the wind finally began to die down, Link lowered his arms to stare forward in pure bewilderment.

Was that a coffin?

He didn't have long to consider the implications of such a technique as, just as he began to, the coffin above him began to slowly rumble to life. Link's eyes widened and he held back a gasp as he observed the coffin's very lid shake slowly at first before eventually violently convulsing to the ground. When he saw what came out of the casket however...

Link could only stare in a mixture of pure confusion and apprehension.

A figure, seemingly a young man, stepped out from inside of the wooden container, his head held lowly. As Link examined him, he found himself re-experiencing the déjà vu he had felt mere moments earlier. With wild blonde hair decorating his head, similar to his own yet in a different style, the young man also seemed to wear a green cap near identical to the bewildered Kokiri's. Almost as if to mock him further the young man's tunic, also a brilliant green, covered the rest of his body. The only thing apparently different from the pair besides their size and hairstyle appeared to be the white under-shirt and leggings.

The figure before Link seemed to remind him of someone he should know.

"Is this a joke...?"

His silent thoughts went unanswered however for when the mysterious intruder raised his head up, Link, at last, got a good look at his face.

Oddly enough, the young man's facial features seemed to be marred by visible cracks in his otherwise fair-looking skin.

Seemingly working from behind him and even from behind the very coffin he came in, the nameless robed sorcerer rose up his pulsating right arm. He shot forward a low grin within the darkness of his cloak as his quivering shadow-shaded Aegir began to visibly affect the corpse-like figure before him. As if by the man's magic, a similarly demonic-looking single-edged sword appeared in his left hand; a second revelation that did not go unnoticed by the watching Link. Sure enough, a purple-coloured shield with a seemingly angelic design on it materialised on his right and yet, like its brother, appeared to be infected with some kind of demonic disease.

Link's cobalt-blue eyes widened in realisation at the old man's intentions.

He's going to sic this thing on me, he thought.

Sure enough, seemingly reacting to the Quintessence channelled through to its head, the formerly living young man shot up his head and widened his eyes to stare forward at his seeming new target. Link gulped down a load of saliva and readied himself, pushing down the inevitable negative thoughts of doubt clogging his mind.

"Navi... I sure could use your help right about now..."

~

Reanimated Corpse of Corruption - Former Departed Hero

With a sudden leap, the older blonde boy leapt at him from the platform in a daring plunging strike; both hands held onto the blade's hilt for added strength. Narrowing his oceanic eyes at his fresh opponent Link rolled evasively to his right to evade the, though obvious, very debilitating assault.

SLAM-SPLASH

Just as the two expected, water from the puddle of the battle arena flew up as if in protest to their exchange and time slowed down very briefly for the watching pair; as Link watched the nameless corpse in his low recovering stance, the blonde swordsman couldn't help but stare back in a hardened and emotionless frown.

Why do I feel like I'm looking at myself, Link thought puzzlingly.

I know this person somehow.

And yet I shouldn't.

Moreover why does he look like me?

This wasn't quite like fighting Kage Narumono, Link surmised silently to himself.

As if triggered by his voiceless ruminations, the platform the cadaver once stood on so proudly suddenly began to move; his attention caught by it, Link couldn't help but snap his eyes in its direction, shocked.

He watched the old robed man disappear quietly away with the coffin he once commanded, soon leaving the pair of warriors breathing space.

I have to get up there, Link thought desperately.

Now.

Interrupting his silent reflections, the blonde swordsman leapt for him a second time, surprising the Kokiri youth; snapping his head back in the dead warrior's direction, he shot up his Kokiri small-sword diagonally to block the carcass' similarly angled swipe.

CLANG

Ducking with widened eyes he managed to avoid the silent swordsman's swift follow-up horizontal slicing strike; pulling out a Deku Nut as quickly as he could, he tossed it down to create a large and blinding flash. The nameless corpse groaned, raising his arms defensively presumably to block his higher region from the absurd light obstructing his view. Recovered by now and pressing further forward, the wide-eyed Link broke into an abrupt sprint that elevated into an acrobatic trio of kicks across his opponent's arms, sending him skidding backward. Landing in a deft roll forward to lose as little time as possible in his counter-attack, the young Kokiri widened his eyes a second time as he yelled in an effort-filled stab attack.

Shooting his demonic-designed shield downward in response however the blonde corpse had finally recoup and, with it, he pushed back the gasping young blonde boy in a sudden stumbling retreat. This time it was the dead dueller's chance to press the attack and press it he did; leaping skyward he dove down in a deft dive-kick aimed for the head. Barely recovering in time, Link gasped as he swerved his head to his right to avoid the dive before using his free right arm to grasp at his enemy's leg as it passed him.

Sure enough, he caught the growling cadaver and began to yell in a low-to-loud battle cry as he rotated in place to toss the warrior, both hands now entwined. The pair moved at such a speed that the battle arena around them whizzed them by like a rushing ocean. Eventually, however, it stopped; with widened eyes and charging himself with Aegir to intensify the strength of his counter-attack, Link roared as he at last launched his similarly yelling enemy.

DROOM-CRUMBLE...

Although the wall itself was Jabu Jabu's fleshy insides, with the force the nameless blonde corpse was thrown into, it acted like a stone wall in and of itself; parts of the prison fell directly on top of the fallen cadaver savagely. Gasping from the effort, Link watched in a narrow-eyed suspicious frown; huffing away in his low posture he kept himself on edge for the inevitable response he saw coming.

RUMBLE...

"Tch...!" Link tutted half-angrily and half-worriedly as he witnessed the seemingly emotionless warrior dig himself out of the wreckage below him.

Just as he had expected.

"How am I gonna get out of this one...?" The Kokiri thought desperately to himself as he eyed the approaching swordsman, his hopes beginning to grow thin. "He doesn't even look winded..."

Seemingly as uninjured as the blonde boy ruminated upon, the mysterious swordsman gave a single diagonal practice swing with his demonic-edged sword, gradual in tempo as his inevitable march was.

He must have some kind of weakness, Link wondered silently to himself. Gritting his teeth, he spun the Kokiri small-sword 'round his left hand as he began to back away very slowly as his opponent approached.

The nameless corpse's very curiously similar clothing and even his familiar looks chilled the boy to his bones.

Oddly enough this person, living or dead, could pass as a long lost family relative.

That fact terrified him.

Interrupting his quiet consternation, the unknown gladiator rushed him with a sudden forward assault; Link's eyes widened very briefly and he back-stepped to gain some valuable space. With his Deku Shield having been burnt back in Dodongo's Cavern and having no money to buy a spare, he was forced to do without; using his nimble agility, the youth managed to swerve his body to the right in evasion as the blonde swordsman stepped forward with a sudden stabbing strike. Surprising him further however, the nameless fencer proved all doubts of his intelligence wrong by unexpectedly smashing his devilish shield into the boy's undefended face.

SLAM

"Hrngh...!"

Taken off guard, the grit-toothed Kokiri found himself slowly stumbling back from the swordsman's swift strike, his eyes shut as he did. The unspoken resurrected pressed forward by leaping into the boy directly with his knee, catching his low chest. Link's eyes were forced wide open and he was sent into the air with his enemy's action, arms and legs splayed out forward as he was. Sure enough time resumed to its normal flow and the eerily silent corpse followed up his onslaught with a super-fast series of slices and slashes. Unable to even grunt in the extreme physical agony the little Kokiri was being dealt, Link could merely stare in any available direction he was permitted to before swiftly being jerked in another.

Eventually the attack finished with a very generous roundhouse kick across the face; this time Link managed to gasp as he was sent bloody, injured, careering and even ricocheting off the barriers of the arena. At last, the boy landed and plenty wounded he was; visible stains of boiling crimson tainted the very ground and walls he had rebounded from. Gasping continually for air and fearing the inevitable, Link attempted to raise his tousled head up only to find his beloved green hat lying on the floor savagely cut up and destroyed. In spite of his great danger, Link could only hold back an agonising laugh.

"Saria's gonna kill me..."

With a similarly arduous cough, yet more of his life-juices escaped from his mouth, indicating his dire condition. Perhaps sensing this, the resurrected warrior resumed his pursuit of the fallen boy and began a slow walk toward him before eventually growing in speed to a quick sprint.

Here he comes, Link thought, his narrowing eyes twitching in a mixture of pain and effort.

Surprising him yet again, the nameless straw-haired swordsman rose high into the skies before soon plunging down for the inevitable killing blow. Link couldn't help but gasp one last time in shock before very painfully attempting to raise his arms in a diagonally-crossed defence. Intensifying his Aegir, a cloak of blue began to encircle him; the aura of his Quintessence. Soon enough however his opponent finally descended to meet him and, when he did, time stopped.

SLAM-SKRRRRRR

Desperation filled the panicked boy's mind as he lay there watching the dispassionately frowning face of his enemy attempt to merely push through his Aegir shield with his sword and physical force. Sparks of sheer cataclysmic strength sang between them before, finally, the nameless warrior upped his own input by adding his Quintessence to his charge. Fearing the results, Link's eyebrows rose together as he watched the sparks of the demonically-designed sword poke through his aura of magic.

"N-No...," he managed out in a stammering scowl, blood staining his grit teeth. "N-No!"

Just as the boy's despair finally took form, his enemy's sword at last pierced the Aegir shield.

SMASH

Particles of the Quintessence field came flying, dotting the air with its majestic blue sparkles. In spite of this beauty however, Link's oceanic eyes widened for what very well was the end of his fight.

"I can't die! Not yet!"

In spite of his loud and echoing plea the corpse's unfeeling weapon came arrowing down to meet his crossed arms and, presumably, his heart.

SQUELCH

Indeed, the infected blade managed to pierce the boy's flesh however, the formation of his arms changed and very quickly at that.

Despite his earlier weakness, the young Kokiri now mysteriously held the blade by its dangerous side within his very hands. Understandably shocked and curious, the nameless swordsman turned his frown forward to examine the changes; Link, though in his previous position, held the man's sword by its blade, endlessly twitching and bleeding from the effort. The hard-frowning cadaver watched as the boy's low-held head slowly rose.

"Shin'ozo...," Link spoke back in response, his voice now noticeably much lower and oddly demonic in resonance. Eventually, as if for effect, the newly reawakened Kokiri shot his head up to reveal a maniacal smirk decorating his already battle-weary and blood-soaked face. "Tomete KURERU!"

–

3

With an intense increase in his newly roasting aura of fire-coated Aegir, Kage Narumono easily batted back the offensive-positioned resurrected above him by mentally projecting a push; visibly, his Aura lit up briefly and turned the corpse alight. Realising his recently horrible positioning, the wide-eyed cadaver pushed off of the fallen form beneath him before landing safely on the handily placed puddle of water beneath him. Using it to quench the flames that his fresh opponent gifted him with, the nameless blonde frowned deeply forward as he stared back at the recovering form of his enemy.

Sure enough, his appearance had very slightly changed alongside his noticeable tone of voice; he wore some sharp edges to the canines of his teeth, as if a vampire in some respect. Oddly enough as well, Link's lustrous blonde hair had morphed to a deeper crimson shade, as if to represent the very noticeable change in the boy.

"I... am free once more...," Kage finally spoke within the vessel he shared with the unconscious Link. With a low malignant chuckle fresh on his lips he began to ramble forward carelessly, as if he were merely having a stroll in the park. "But you...," he began, similarly lowly as he eyed the resurrected corpse with his burning blood gaze, tossing the Kokiri Sword his alter-ego wielded so well in a continuous upward casual flip. "You are NOT!"

Upon the inflection of his sentence, the maniacally-expressed boy laughed as he suddenly tossed the Kokiri Sword forward; seemingly enchanted with the fiery Aegir he possessed, it flew at him with the near-unwatchable speed of an arrow fired from a ballista.

TINK-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

Narrowing his own eyes, the nameless blonde corpse shot his demonic-looking shield up to block the abrupt assault and the small-sword, stopped so brusquely in its flight, soon found itself spinning endlessly vertically into the air above him.

Mistake.

In an insanely swift manoeuvre, the fiery-red blur that was Kage abruptly re-appeared in the blonde swordsman's undefended right side, his eyes as hungry as the fangs he wore depicted him. The nameless cadaver before him widened its eyes in its realisation of its unfortunate situation; similarly enough, Kage's satanically-flaming eyes widened but in a much different sense of reason.

"Messatsu!"

CRUSH-SMASH

With his superior left arm filled with a commanding rise in Aegir as well as the hellish inferno that blazed on in his aura, he collided it with his wide-eyed opponent. Sure enough, the shock-expressed swordsman was sent pelting down the fleshy-stout battle arena, spinning almost endlessly. Just as was intended, the resurrected corpse found himself crashing painfully into the wall behind him, barely recovering his breath as he was.

"Shakunetsu!"

Along with the bellowing Kage's call came a blazing ball of fire that traversed the air from his previous position, directed straight for the recuperating blonde fighter. Groaning, his voice also a similarly a demonic edge to it, he managed to force himself up on his feet to raise his infected shield forward. Sure enough as it met with the fiery-coated sphere, the shield began to burn up from the sheer contact it made; the blonde swordsman found himself grunting as he tossed its now unusable wreckage to the side, an advantage having been lost. Double-taking to his left, he widened his dulled out grey-shaded eyes as he caught what appeared to be an oddly flickering form of the fanged Kage hovering through the air.

Unable to even believe it, the summoned cadaver could only stare as the demonic Kage spun forward in a wildly air-twisting hurricane kick. Successfully catching him as he passed him by, Kage followed up his mid-air assault by roaring in an effort-filled battle cry as he smashed his right fist across the corpse's face. He continued his combination by swinging his right leg through the air in a debilitating axe kick technique, smashing painfully into the blonde warrior's head vertically and then, the rest of his body.

Progressing with a forward open palm, he smashed it savagely into the grunting blonde's face, sending him stumbling backward to leave him just in range of his next follow-up; a single spinning roundhouse kick that forced the corpse off of his standing position and into the air. Widening his blood-red eyes, Kage growled as he put most of his force into his next attack.

"Messatsu...!" He began, initially striking the young man thrice before spinning mid-assault for another pass. "GOOOOOSHORYUUU!"

CRACK-SMASH

Similarly twisting through the air a third time in his combination ender, Kage's fiery Aegir managed to make contact with the pained-faced blonde swordsman, turning him alight in a blaze of glory. With a dragon-like rising uppercut, the wide-eyed demonic-toned warrior crashed his muscled fist into the poor resurrected cadaver before him, sending him showering toward the wall behind him.

CRASH-RUMBLE...

Just as before, the meaty wall around them gave out and dropped many parts to join the fallen reanimated carcass. Unwilling to remain under for long however, the nameless blonde widened his eyes as he intensified his Quintessence aura, blasting apart the wreckage that lay around him. Watching hungrily, the side of Kage's face slowly upturned into a maliciously held low fanged smirk.

"So...," he began, his deepened masculine voice reverberating across the barriers of their battle arena. "I didn't even damage you, did I...?" The demonic-like entity chuckled half-knowingly as he narrowed his eyes with some suspicion.

Sure enough, though the corpse was as imperfectly reanimated as before, it now carried burn marks thanks to the newly reawakened Kage's fiery aura. He also sported what appeared to be bruises and bloody marks.

And yet, somehow, in spite of all these seemingly heavy injuries the blonde marched on forward as if his path was merely obstructed with these injuries.

"Grrrngh...!" Kage began in response, his grin morphing to an ugly fanged scowl; as he lowered the rest of his standing form to a diagonal one, he gripped his chest with effort as if heightened by the battle's adrenaline. "Kore-wa-onozomi-da!" He exclaimed, his deeply-demonic voice echoing across the walls; he gave his sentence more strength with the application of a swinging axe kick, breaking apart the very ground he stood on.

Using the opportunity granted to him, the nameless swordsman widened his grey-shaded eyes before suddenly disappearing in what appeared to be a flickering after-image. Noticing his movement, Kage allowed a surprised gasp to escape his lips to match his own wide-eyed frown; he soon darted his vision around in search for his quick and nimble enemy, scowling lowly as he did so. Without much warning the flickering blonde re-appeared to the demon's sharp-right in an attempt to ambush him with a super-fast and sudden horizontal slice. Chortling wickedly with his evasion, Kage ducked the hack before suddenly slamming his left burning fist directly into the swordsman's chest.

"Agh...!"

Finally drawing a word from the otherwise voiceless blonde before him, Kage grinned lowly as he leapt up into the air to pursue the stumbling swordsman. With yet another spinning roundhouse kick in mid-air, he dove down at the wide-eyed cadaver.

"Kurekijin!"

With that bellow of effort, he managed to strike the young man flying across the air. Landing swiftly Kage Narumono used the Shinzui's very Aegir itself to glide supernaturally across the ground, his right leg raised to its knee. Managing to catch the very falling young corpse, Link's demonic second side followed up his next assault with a roaring haymaker across the face.

"MESSATSU!" He bellowed out in effort, cancelling his strike into what appeared to be a rise of his Aegir's strength. A dark-purplish aura mixed and mingled to join with his angry-fiery one, forming a satanic one indeed. "The ultimate technique known only to those who practice the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai!" Kage finally spoke in the common tongue, his eyes widened as the fatigued blonde carcass before him. His demonic eyes widened once more as he re-opened his mouth to elaborate further. "Exorcism of the six realms!" He exclaimed, his voice knocking his firm tone across the barriers of the room.

With some serious effort he rose up his left roundhouse to spin slowly up and finally down to meet him in a final strike; the axe kick technique.

A herald to end the savage entanglement.

"RIKUDOOO OSATSU!" The burning-aura form of the demon called out loudly, his voice reverberating with a strength of finality. Seemingly almost as expected however, he leaned closer toward the grunting corpse and, strangely, once he did; all had grown dark. As if to prevent any unknowing eyes from witnessing the ancient, demonic technique, the unnatural darkness pervaded the very air that they now resided in. The only sound that came from it were the numerous supernaturally fast strikes that Kage presumably delivered within his dark-dimension, screaming with a murderous battle cry as he did so.

Finally, immediately after his thirtieth attack, light at last returned to the small battle arena only to reveal the hard-scowling Kage Narumono standing in seeming victory. With his back faced forward, he placed his clenched and pulsating fists to his two sides, his head held low.

"Messatsu...," he breathed out similarly lowly as he glared down at his fallen and presumably finished opponent. With the demonic warrior's assault at its end, the laying form of the young blonde man eventually began to glow brightly into a white flash. Soon the light expelled and, as it did, a ghostly form of the young man himself seemed to fly directly above the body below as if released somehow. The body itself, with no soul to occupy it, eventually disintegrated into dust. "Go back... to the void..." He whispered out with a firm breath of finality, his demonic and deep voice batting hauntingly across the walls of the arena.

"Link! Are you all right?!"

Shocked by the appearance of a new voice – and the whirring noise to go along with it – Kage widened his eyes in surprise as he shot his head skyward in response to the noise's source. Sure enough, as the platform re-descended back down to meet him, the Zoran princess was still atop it leaning down to watch. Next to her sat up the red-haired Malon, close friend of his second side; Kage Narumono found his fanged smirk slowly growing, a feeling akin to malicious joy welling up within him. As it finally descended down to sink into the ground before him Kage began to march forward wordlessly, his fiery-red eyes focused firmly on the pair of young girls resting on the now small incline of the platform.

"L-Link...?" Malon asked cautiously, her voice taking on an understandably worried tone to it. She got up to her feet and began to walk back as he approached. "What's... what's wrong with-?"

"That's not him," Ruto wisely stated as she joined her new companion in backing away from the disturbing-expressed boy before her. The Zoran princess found herself shaking her head as if for emphatic effect before elaborating further. "There's something off about his Aegir and even his voice."

"His eyes...," Malon whispered back, raising her hands to clutch at her chest softly. "They're not the same..." She agreed with quietly, eliciting a knowing and malevolent snicker from the slow-approaching Kage.

"No-one will care...," he began in response, something in his fiery-crimson eyes flashing as he did. "If only one of you don't survive... yes...?" He spoke, his smirk widening a little. Horrified by his words, Malon held back a gasp. Unwilling to give him any satisfaction however, Ruto merely glared back at him, easily catching his attention. "Or perhaps... there'll be two accidents..." He threatened quietly, his smirk soon fading into a hateful low scowl.

Before he could even think to further approach however the door to the battle arena, previously thought to have been locked shut, re-opened all of a sudden. Shocking all three children within, the trio snapped their eyes over, similarly surprised only to find the tall form of the hard-frowning Alwyn.

"A-Alwyn!" Ruto called out, her eyes widening in half-alarm. "Be careful!"

"What in the hell...?" The former Zoran knight merely murmured out in what seemed to be disgust as he ran his eyes over the similarly firm-scowling form of Kage.

"That's not who you think it is!" Ruto yelled over, her tone desperate. "There's something demonic in his Aegir! He was fine just a few minutes ago!"

"Yeah... I can see that...," Alwyn muttered back in response; he and both the threateningly scowling form of Kage found themselves glaring at one another. The slightest of movements now would inevitably start a fight and they both knew it. "Link...," the Zoran warrior began once more, narrowing his eyes suspiciously forward. "You in there...?"

Facing him with a hard-scowling grunt, Kage at last turned his burning-aura body to face Alwyn's. "Shin'ozo..." He began his beloved introduction, very slowly starting his approach forward toward his new opponent.

Uttering no response, Alwyn merely glared back at the slow-marching demon before him, readying himself mentally and physically. Soon Kage's pace quickened and, as it did, so did the intensity of his blazing Quintessence aura.

"Tomete KURERU!" Kage finally screamed; his slow march suddenly zoomed into a super-fast sprint.

~

Erstwhile Military Zoran Commander - Former Captain Alwyn

CLASH-SKRRRR

Running his clawed arm across Alwyn's left diagonally raised fin arm, Kage caused sparks to emit between the glaring pair. In spite of the danger they both dealt with, they took to it like fish to water; indeed, with the malicious toothy fanged smirk on the grinning Kage's face and the mere hard-scowling expression on Alwyn's made them look like this was just another normal day for them.

"Anata no tamashī...," Kage's flat and satanically toned voice reverberated across the walls hauntingly. "O' hakai shimasu...!" He finished in a wide-eyed exclamation; as if in response to the ancient Hylian language of which he spoke, his Aegir of flames grew more intensifying to cover the very field on which they stood. Grunting with effort Alwyn broke the hold and back-dashed away a few paces to gain some valuable space, oceanic eyes narrowing back at his opponent.

"I know that language...," he intoned out quietly and suspiciously. "'I will destroy your very soul'... huh...?" The Zoran warrior translated, almost word for word perfectly.

The scowling Kage merely stared back at the former knight, a thinly veiled hatred-filled glower on his face.

The air soon grew tense between the peering pair as they, very gradually, both began to move so controlled and slow the two combatants circled one another. With similarly resolute creases dotting their similarly hardened frowns, their eyes continually scanned one another as if to look for some kind of weakness; anything almost.

Anything to take advantage of and gain space on the other.

Sure enough however, one of them eventually moved; with widened eyes Alwyn caught the slow-walking form of Kage flicker in and out of existence.

An after-image.

In spite of his witness however still he was not swift enough in his reaction to move in time.

SMASH

"Gagh...!"

Letting loose a pained grunt as he was struck agonisingly across the back of his head, Alwyn found himself stumbling a few steps forward from the sheer strength and speed of Kage's assault. Turning his blue head 'round to scowl back at his enemy he barely had time to raise up his left arm to block the roaring Kage's follow-up haymaker.

"SHINU!"

CRACK

Alwyn let loose an anguished scream of suffering as the monstrous Aegir that Kage's wallop commanded managed to dislocate the poor Zoran's left arm. Shutting one of his own cobalt-blue eyes in display of his sheer pain he widened his one remaining open when he caught the screaming Kage wildly flailing his free right arm for a third sequence of attacks. Thinking quickly, the former knight of the river ducked, easily avoiding the wide swing the wide-eyed demon expelled forth. With a swift follow-up sweep, the older man swept the blonde's legs; successful, Kage found himself gasping as he dropped toward the fleshy-pink ground beneath him.

Extending his right arm toward it however he caught himself before the rest of his body touched the ground. Finishing his counter-attack, Alwyn yelled aloud as he spun around his one good right arm directly for the fallen youth, his sword-like fin extended for sharpness. His eyes widening, Kage used the Quintessence in his left arm to catch the blade before it hit him; as a result, sparks once more emitted between the pair in the inevitable death-like struggle.

SKRRRRRR

Very slowly finding himself outpaced however Kage's crimson eyes similarly slowly widened before, eventually, he broke hold of the conflict with an abrupt roll to his right.

SLAM

Perhaps inevitably, Alwyn's attacking right arm found the ground in a harmless strike; his sky-blue eyes widened at his enemy's sudden movement before he gasped, darting his eyes in the demon's very direction. With very little finesse Kage yelled in effort as he pushed up off of the ground to smash the back of his head on his opponent's body. Despite his lack of subtlety his aim was true and the wide-eyed Alwyn found himself gasping from the sheer surprise as he was sent rolling through the air and the ground; a testament to the demonic warrior's pure raw power. Angry at being caught off-guard, Alwyn growled back at his enemy in his recovery; using his newly recovered left as well as his right arm to dig roughly into the ground in an attempt to slow his movement.

"Koroshi-koroshi...,"

Kage merely stood back up and shot his right arm to the sky; as if in response a portal of blood-like Aegir appeared above and sucked his very form inside. Widening his eyes at the sight, Alwyn could only watch, soon darting in every available direction in desperate search for the missing demon. Utilising the flesh-like debris that the former Zoran knight had dug up, Kage re-appeared directly above the older man, the sanguine vessel he used appearing with him. Dropping down with a roaring Aegir-filled axe punch, he caught the terrified attention of the warrior below. Thinking quickly once more Alwyn merely pulled up his arms from the ground beneath him to speed himself up, just barely avoiding the plummeting Kage's plunging strike.

DROOM

"KOROSHI!" Kage finished his chant with a hauntingly echoed and hate-filled scream; he punctuated his already horrifying words with a spin of his head to glare back at the narrow-eyed recovering Zoran.

"You're not gonna kill anyone...," Alwyn shot back challengingly in his hard-eyed glower. "Not if I can help it."

As if to show his very bitterness at the Zoran's confident declaration, Kage about turned the rest of his body to face his enemy before growling animalistically as he shot forward in pursuit. Fully expecting it, Alwyn spot-dodged to his left in abrupt movement to narrowly evade the demonic warrior's obvious lunging punch. Spinning his body 'round in a deft roundhouse kick he smashed his webbed feet across the grunting fighter's face, the force of which managed to send him spinning across the air. In spite of his wild rotating form, Kage rumbled lowly as he attempted to similarly primevally swing his leg in a return punt.

Fortunately for the recovered Zoran however, Alwyn managed to use his extra time to merely allow the angry assault to whiff before pressing on with his own attack. He grunted as he swung his leg in a swift but debilitating horizontal slicing kick. This time however, Kage was ready; his fiery-red eyes widened and, grabbing the man's leg, he parried it before roaring in effort as he flew his left fist directly into the horrified Zoran's face.

SMASH

"Gurgh...!"

Finding himself being sent spinning and rolling across the ground a second time, he recovered by pushing himself up in a deft back-flip; flesh drew up from the man's rough actions, the debris of their battle arena. Following up his recovery, Alwyn narrowed his eyes forward in determination before suddenly shooting himself forward as if an arrow shot from a ballista. Kage could only stare in widened eyes, still in the animation of his recovery.

BAM

Being similarly sent rocketing back in a pained gyrate of his body, Kage growled and spat out the boiling hot red of his life-juices onto the ground as he used his left and then his right arm to dig at the ground in an effort to slow his fast movement. Utilising his intense speed, Alwyn pursued his opponent by running 'round him perhaps to catch the demonic warrior by his undefended rear; unfortunately for him this time however he was ready.

"MESSATSU!"

To match his passion-filled battle cry, Kage turned his grit-toothed scowl on his fast-approaching enemy before swiftly sidestepping the Zoran's sudden lunging stabbing strike. Taking advantage of his overextension, the burning warrior growled once more as he took the man's arm and roared in effort as he swung him over his shoulder. Alwyn opened his mouth but only to scream in an unhealthy mixture of horror and adrenaline; with his oceanic eyes widened he watched the ground very rapidly close in. Grunting in pain Alwyn was gifted with no further time to recover; widening his eyes yet again he found the roaring Kage following up with a descending right-armed punch. The Zoran gasped before rolling evasively to his left to make the strike whiff; just as before it smashed apart the pulpy surface beneath them, spitting up debris in response. Alwyn grunted as he swung his body backward in a quick duo of kicks, aimed directly at the Kage's wide-eyed face.

SMACK-SMACK

"Grrrngh...!" He growled out, drawing back in his attacking arm to nurse his assaulted face as he stumbled backward a few steps. Alwyn acrobatically back-flipped to a recovering attack by pushing up off of the ground with his hands; powered up by his smooth blue Aegir he narrowed his eyes as he shot off toward the stumbling Kage with both webbed feet spinning toward him.

DRRRRR

"Rrrrrg-AGH!"

Kage's rage-filled pained scream echoed within the battle arena as Alwyn very skillfully drilled his legs into the ancient warrior's face. Soon enough he found himself roaring in agony as he was dragged across the ground with no quarter; Alwyn rotated rapidly almost endlessly, as if a pure spinning top made incarnate, before readying up with his counter-attack.

"Hngh...!" The former Zoran knight grunted out in effort as he slammed his right foot directly into the demonic Kage's face; the force of which sent him spiralling skyward.

"NANIII-?!"

Lowering his body and pulling his attack arms back, Alwyn narrowed his eyes determinedly up at the wildly revolving Kage Narumono high into the air. Powering himself up via his smooth-blue Quintessence, Alwyn at last widened his similarly cobalt eyes before leaping up to pursue.

"HYA!"

SLICE-HACK-CARVE

With a lasting and final assault Alwyn managed to end the altercation with a glorious spinning slashing strike; powered by his ocean-like Aegir, Kage's boiling fire soon found itself becoming doused by the Zoran's great control of water. The blades on his fins and arms managed to cut through the boy's tunic and even his skin, drawing blood in a flying and amazing rainbow-like sight indeed. Time slowed down for the shut-eyed Zoran warrior and his similarly scowling opponent as they hung in mid-air very slowly before, eventually, dropping down to the ground. Though Alwyn landed in a graceful frown Kage did not.

SLAM

–

4

"Grnngh... Rnnngh..." The growling demon intoned out; now facing the ground beneath him, his once towering inferno aura had drizzled down to a mere trickle, indicating his massive drop in strength.

Sure enough, as if to reinforce this the demon's young face was marked with many savage-looking cuts and slashes; a generous amount of human blood trailed down from these telling wounds, covering Kage in his own life-juices. Turning to face him, Alwyn reinforced his hardened frown before about-turning and pursuing in a brisk walk; even as Kage regained movement of his body, he attempted to crawl off in his body's weakened state. Unfortunately for him however, the stronger Zoran warrior stepped over him to place his foot directly down on the ancient combatant's boot and leg.

"Graaargh!" Kage roared out in an unhealthy mixture of hatred and agony, calling his echoing voice up to the ceiling above. Finally finding the courage to move from their position far away, the watching princess Ruto and Malon stepped over very carefully in their spectating.

"Stay back," Alwyn warned over his shoulder with an emphatic narrow of his aqua-blue eyes. "We don't know if this is all of his power."

Though she looked as defiant as ever, Ruto opted to oblige anyway; she settled for merely folding her arms from her vantage point, frowning down at the fallen growling Kage Narumono.

"U-Um..."

Realising the source of the new voice came from the young red-haired girl of which he had not yet spoken to, Alwyn turned his head to face her. Raising a curious eyebrow at her he allowed the nervous youth to continue.

"W-What are you going to do to him...?" Malon requested very softly, her hands joined together in front of her as she stood watching. Similarly curious, Ruto shot the girl next to her a look before returning her eyes to the standing Zoran military-man before her. Staring back at her in a saddened frown of his own, Alwyn re-opened his mouth as he hovered his eyes back down to wander on his fallen and growling adversary.

"Under any normal circumstance...," he began, his eyes half-closed as if in deep-pondering. "I'd have eliminated the threat."

Malon couldn't help but gasp audibly from her worried watching; even the silent Ruto could only widen her indigo eyes as she listened, similarly surprised.

"But I know this kid...," he clarified with a re-narrow of his eyes. "And I'd rather not kill him if I can help it..."

"W-Where is Navi?"

Both curious and inquisitive, Alwyn and Ruto swivelled 'round to raise eyebrows with the questioning Malon. Feeling their stares on her she could only wince lightly. Soon realising the very gravity of her inquiry, Alwyn's eyebrows rose up in recognition and he turned them 'round to face the door he himself had walked through earlier.

"Ah you must mean-?"

Sure enough, almost as if sensing the conversation, the door opened to reveal a bulbous blue ball of light before them.

Navi stared back at them.

"Alwyn, you...," she huffed out, clearly out of breath from pursuit. "You jerk!" She called out as she very slowly hovered forward to join the group. "You're worse than Link! How could you leave me back-?" She began heatedly, positively furious. However, her tone soon changed when she double-took at the sight of the groaning and heavily wounded Kage laying on the ground. "W-What's happened?"

"Navi!"

"Malon?!"

"Rrgh-! No...!" Kage called out, his tone suddenly desperate to match his anger, realising what the guardian fairy's presence meant.

Curious and willing to watch, the silent Alwyn opened his mouth ever so slightly as he furrowed his brow at the scene unfolding before him.

Just as within the Hyrule Castle courtyard and Death Mountain's Dodongo Cavern, Navi's calming cerulean light washed over the raging Kage's; as her illumination drew closer, Kage's consciousness gradually began to fade.

"Grgh...," he growled out, his crimson eyes rolling up to his head; he visibly struggled even fiercer than before, truly desperate to escape. "Kore-o-wasurenai..." Kage Narumono echoed on out, his haunting demonic tone bouncing off the walls of the arena one final time before, at last, he dropped to the ground unconscious. Alwyn narrowed his eyes at the exchange, his mind working the events out.

"You'll 'remember' this... huh...?" The Zoran warrior translated on out amidst his hard-eyed glare. "Hmph..."


	21. Déjà Vu

Chapter 21: Déjà Vu; Ruined Future  
Realisation of the Prophecy Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Behind the Clouds" - Black Lagoon OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"Zora's Domain (Night)" - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"Temple of Time" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 3 (Second Half) and 4 (Second Half).  
"Master Sword" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 4 (Second Half).

\--

In their haste for their own goals Link, Navi, Alwyn and even the spectating Malon all managed to get consumed by the Zora people's great deity god, their Lord Jabu Jabu. Though they are all safe in their infiltration the group of four people easily end up separated as a result of the deity's habitual feeding frenzy.

While Alwyn and Navi rid Jabu Jabu of the odd infections plaguing the Lord Jabu Jabu, even they soon became divided from one another; in a surprising act of haste, when a rather loud (and familiar) noise exudes from the inside of the dungeon-like area, he rushes off to investigate by himself.

Similarly divided from his earlier companions, Link wakes up being tended to by the very object of his pursuit; the Zoran princess Ruto, daughter to King Zora De Bon XVI. Though the two continually clash with one another in their attempt to leave the insides of Lord Jabu Jabu they eventually come to what appears to be the end of their run. In their exploration they come face to face with the sole reason for the Zoran people's misery and the ocean god's troubles but not before Ruto manages to locate her mother's special Spiritual Stone; the Zora's Sapphire.

In finding it however they locate the missing Malon, seemingly having gone in search of her friends Link and Navi, and come face to face with the mysterious old summoner in the centre of the area. The summoner, having been found, opts to resort to forbidden Aegir Art and calls upon a coffin; the Aegir Art: Revivification technique. Inside of the coffin lies a strangely familiar young swordsman that Link somehow recognises; unfortunately for the youth however, he is put to fight to this young man to the death. Though he holds his own and fights bravely, once again, he resorts to the satanic power of his demonic second side; Kage Narumono.

Once released the tables soon turn and Kage easily overtakes the summoned menace before using his cruel Aegir to exorcise the seemingly deceased soul. In utilising the Rikudo Osatsu he counters the cryptic summoner's technique with the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai's own native powers. Unfortunately however, this leaves the newly re-awakened Kage Narumono to wreak havoc and with the defenceless Ruto and Malon laying before him to boot. Though he attempts to end their very lives in a manner befitting his insanity, the rushing Alwyn arrives just in time to save the duo of little girls.

Staring one another down as a predator would they prey, the two eventually do mortal battle with full intention on killing the other in a savage manner. Thanks to his earlier engagement with the summoned blonde corpse however, Kage finds himself being outperformed by the smart warrior Alwyn and, eventually, taken down. At last Navi catches up to her charge and her companions and not a minute too soon; just as within the Hyrule Castle courtyard and Dodongo's Cavern, her calming blue luminous light alone manages to turn the wild and raging Kage Narumono back to the peace-loving boy of Kokiri Forest.

Having recovered his country's three national treasures, Link, Navi and Alwyn return from Lord Jabu Jabu. In delivering not only the missing Zoran princess Ruto but the similarly missing Malon, they receive great gratitude from the Zoran king in response. Seeing fit to grace the adventuring two with the Zora's Sapphire for his beloved daughter's life being saved, king Zora thanks Link and Navi and even bestows great honour to his former military captain, Alwyn.

Now, with all the pieces recovered for Hyrule's wise but naïve princess, Link and Navi begin to ready to leave the Zora's kingdom; the end of their quest is at last in sight. However... in spite of this, Link can't help but feel a worrying feeling; something niggling at the corner of his mind.

Just like when he arrived at Hyrule Castle mere weeks earlier...

\--

Scene 1

"I see...," Ganondorf intoned out, his yellowish eyes peering deep into the night-time darkness of the Hyrule Castletown marketplace; skulking around a back alley, the hard-armoured Gerudo king was seemingly searching for a quiet and uninhabited area to speak with. A hooded figure stood directly behind him, their face completely covered both by the chestnut dark-brown cloak they wore. "And did you...?" He pressed on, turning his eyes to his side as if to reach the figure behind him.

"Yes, my lord...," the figure finally spoke; a wizened old tone, seemingly a man. He bowed as a sign of visible respect before soon lowering himself to one knee as if to pledge his loyalty to the high-borne. "Just as you predicted... that green-clothed boy and the guardian fairy assigned to him were there..."

The firm scowl on Ganondorf's face soon upturned into a satisfied smirk, as if the news did his mood well. "Hah...," he laughed lowly, brow furrowing. "And you called upon that creature as discussed...?"

"Yes... my lord."

"The boy... fought through it...?"

The old man couldn't help but let a slow grin crease his features behind the hood he wore; he nodded a second time as he did, hovering his cloaked right arm to rest across his chest. "Indeed..."

Ganondorf shook his head, as if in disbelief, a low chuckle upon his lips. Soon, however, his chuckle evolved into a modest laugh that echoed across the building walls of the back alley.

"How he did it... I still cannot fathom..." The old man murmured out, a hint of disappointment and annoyance in his tone.

"How indeed...," Ganondorf finished, still in his low-chuckling tone; shaking his fiery-haired head as if in agreement with the old summoner, he put on a grin. "It would appear our little friend may have access to supernatural abilities..." The Gerudo king murmured out, his teeth shining in the darkness as if in malicious thought.

"To be able to exorcise a resurrected one so quickly...," the old man finished with a suggestive whisper, shaking his head similarly. "I've only just developed this Aegir Art Lord Ganondorf...!" He further hissed, an angry tone to his voice; as he rose up his head his chestnut cloak's hood soon fell to reveal his face. A seemingly plain-looking man with very little-to-no hair on his head at all.

"We know that a soul brought back has to be from the... 'Void', you call it, yes?" The yellow-eyed king of thieves confirmed with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Yes..."

"And they must be sent back by a fixed force, such as Aegir..."

"Yes, my lord."

"What of... divine means...?"

The cloaked schemer found his eyes narrowing, unsure. "My lord...?"

Ganondorf's amber eyes narrowed at nothing in particular, seemingly in deep thought. "What if... that boy used divine... or even... unholy means to exorcise that ghost of yours... Scaverin...?" He postulated quietly, turning his eyes 'round as he spoke the man's name for the first time, his words echoing reticently around their positions.

The listening cloaked summoner could only furrow his brow in a display of curiosity. "Are you suggesting that... that boy is...?"

"Not twice but thrice already this boy from the Kokiri Forest has attempted to get in the way of my ambitions," the Gerudian king grumbled lowly, his low smirk soon switching an annoyed scowl. It soon softened however when he set his gaze ahead, almost dream-like. "How unsurprised would I be to learn that he is chosen by destiny..."

"Sire surely destiny is just a fabrication of-"

"I have no need for your religious beliefs Scaverin," Ganondorf threw over his armoured shoulder in a hard-scowling spit; he eyed the former bishop behind him threateningly. "I am almost certain those bastard Goddesses exist," he growled on out, a hateful tone to his voice as he re-faced the front and the building he had seemingly been staring at beforehand. "And if they exist...," he trailed on, narrowing his eyes as if for some kind of goal. "Then the Holy Triforce exists..."

Although he seemed to disagree and quite plainly given the frowning look on his face, the silent Scaverin instead opted to offer nothing more to the conversation. He remained in his low-crouching frown, resting on one knee.

"It is possible; the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai," Ganondorf at last acknowledged, his quietened words leaving the air heavier than before with the feel of their weight and the meaning behind them. "I would be unwise to underestimate this otherwise simple boy..."

"'Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai'...?" Scaverin murmured out, re-raising his head to face his commander. "Essence of the Triforce...?"

This time the Gerudian king allowed a low grin to crease his dark-green complexion. "It would appear your former knowledge does you well," he complimented before re-facing the front in his low-eyed glower. "Yes... from what I understand he has proven his Aegir to be a match for it at the very least."

"I... saw it but I still cannot believe it," the hard-frowning bald-headed man shook his head in response, lowering his wandering gaze. "To think I left the order out of dwindling faith and now-"

"Now you are having second thoughts?"

Ganondorf's interruption, so sudden and so biting, made the listening Scaverin widen his hazel-coloured eyes.

"Ah- I-" he stammered at first before soon catching himself; with a low-frowning sigh, he briefly shut his eyes as if to re-focus his behaviour. "No... my lord," the cloaked summoner re-asserted before soon re-opening his hardened gaze. "If anything I am reinforced."

The listening king of thieves turned a corner of his grin up as if in humour. "Oh...?"

"When we eventually overthrow the ungrateful Hylians for their selfish way of life we may rise up to grasp at the very treads of god-hood!" Scaverin shot out with with a narrow-eyed whisper.

"Heh...," Ganondorf chuckled, his arms ever folded in his cold-hearted demeanour. "Be careful how you speak Scaverin...," he warned initially, his grin still on his face. His amber eyes soon narrowed as he turned them to his side as if to refer to the kneeling man behind him. "You speak of yourself in that very speech..."

"Ah...," the former bishop gasped out with a sad-frowning blink. Soon realising his heritage, as obvious as the small pointed ears he wore, Scaverin couldn't help but lower his eyes disappointedly. "Y-Yes... my lord..."

"You're not wrong however," the Gerudo people's monarch added, still in his confident smirk. "Your information in the Hylianis militaris ordinis has been most valuable... without your assistance our effort would surely have failed," he elaborated on before very briefly turning his eyes to his side once more as if to face him. "Rest assured Scaverin... you won't be forgotten."

"I... thank you... my lord..." The listening summoner frowned on out loyally, clenching his left fist across his chest as he shut his hazel eyes.

"All that is left now...," Ganondorf re-started, his smirk very slowly giving way to the hardened frown he always wore so well. "Is to press that brat just a little more..."

Scaverin listened quietly and dutifully.

"By tomorrow's end...," he began forebodingly, his tone full of hatred as if for the young princess of Hyrule and her people. "This land... shall be ours..."

~

"Yes I hear he..."

"It was the..."

Link groaned, a feeling of intense dream-like waviness washing over him.

"He's waking up."

The two voices echoed throughout his ears and, as they did, the blackness of his vision soon began to stabilise; a sinuous quality took shape of the room he seemed to reside in. It first displayed to him as a blurry mess before at last securing to a visible state; on his left appeared to be four presences all gathered 'round his resting place. Realising he was laying side on in a bed he turned his sky-eyed frown to find peculiar kind of sheets; something similar to what he'd expect to find on an ocean floor.

"I must be in... Zora's Domain... which can only mean..."

He barely had the time to turn his head 'round a second time to confirm his thoughts when one of the watching blurs rushed him in a blinding hug.

"Gagh...!" The young Kokiri gasped out, cerulean eyes widening comically from the abrupt assault. He was comforted to know his attacker by the pleasant smell she gave off.

Malon.

His eyes soon narrowed in suspicion when he realised her presence however.

What was she doing here, he thought.

Past events soon recalled back to him of the inside of Jabu Jabu's belly.

"I was so worried...," she gasped out, her hands wrapped fiercely 'round his neck. Link fought the urge to push her off, a vaguely annoyed frown adorned on his face. Thankfully however, the young red-head pulled herself back perhaps to afford him some space. "You're not feeling injured are you?" She asked him, resting her hands concernedly upon his green-clothed shoulders; narrowing her sky-blue eyes at him studiously as if to look through his own oceanic orbs for any sign of lying.

"No, I-" He began with an honest frown as he attempted to sit up; realising the sudden sharp pains across his body however he grit his teeth and grimaced visibly and obviously, sucked at his teeth in a display of this agony. Multiple small wounds drawn across his seemingly bandaged body drew his sharp and pained attention. "Argh...!" The blonde youth managed out, wincing achingly as he re-opened his eyes to look down at his plastered body. "I guess I am, jeez..." He finished in a low-eyed murmur, viewing the odd cut mark that cloth did not cover.

He could not recall those wounds.

"Good. You're up."

His attention grabbed successfully, Link couldn't help but blinking curiously as he turned his eyes up to the voice's source; sure enough, his small and pointed ears caught the firm baritone of the similarly hard-frowning form of Alwyn. His slim blue arms folded as he approached the pair of children, he left behind the female Zoran behind him; seemingly his companion Lenah.

"We've much to discuss, you and I," he began commandingly, his oceanic eyes narrowing down at the youth. "And I believe the honourable princess would also like a word."

Just as he said it, the frowning Ruto stepped into frame, poking out from behind the tall Alwyn's form. Agreeing with the warrior, Link nodded and gave the listening Malon a sad but understanding look.

"But I-" She began frustratingly before sighing, her eyes shut. She re-opened them and leaned forward toward him. "I'll be waiting... okay?"

Putting on a smile, the youth nodded back at her in response, allowing her to lean off his bed and walk toward the exit of the room. Joined by the conspicuously taller Lenah, Malon left the room but not without leaving the frowning Link with a deeply saddened frown.

CLICK

Link sighed through his nose as he watched.

"I'm sorry Malon."

"Okay... first thing's first...," the hard-toned Alwyn began, his eyes slowly narrowing as if to ready himself. "What the hell was that?" He spat out, his pitch of voice angry.

"W-What was what?" Link blinked back for clarification.

"That fight; that Aegir of yours...," the Zoran shot back, narrowing his eyes once more. "Come on... out with it!"

Raising his blonde eyebrow back at the taller ocean warrior he began to work the situation out by the conversation's content.

"You mean..."

"Kage Narumono."

Surprised by the voice's sudden interruption, the group of three turned to the door only to find the shimmering blue light that was Navi hovering in the distance.

"N-Navi?" Link murmured out, half-surprised at her presence let alone her knowledge of the name she seemingly spoke of.

"Kage Naru-what?" Alwyn questioned in a narrow-eyed bid for clarification. Sure enough, as if coaxed in by the Zoran's query, the wavering Navi very slowly drifted into the room to join them.

"Kage... Narumono," the floating ball of blue light reiterated, a firm but calm tone to her words. "I believe in ancient Hylian it means-"

"'Person who is a shadow'?" The narrow-eyed Alwyn interrupted, his words fiercely cutting into the little fairy's soft words to match the hardened tone of the tall man's demeanour. He about-turned to shoot the watching Link and firm-eyed glare, as if in response; the unsure Link could merely swerve his suspicious gaze from his own. "And that's who that was...?" He pressed further as he stared directly at the frowning Kokiri laying in bed before swiftly swivelling his head 'round to furrow his brow at the floating Navi. "That savage demon...?"

"Yes," Navi nodded forward in confirmation before continuing on. "Whatever it is... it calls itself by that name."

"Huh...," the listening Zoran warrior frowned on out, this time in a calmer tone of voice. "You don't seem at all surprised by any of this..." He put his observation over to the sitting form of the frowning Link. By now the youth had regained his confidence; with a hardened frown of his own the little blonde nodded sombrely.

"It's... not the first time it's happened...," he replied, gradually lowering his eyes as if to convey the shame that very visibly washed over his matching creased frown. "Back in Kokiri Forest... and in Dodongo's Cavern in Death Mountain..."

A kind of unnatural and very awkward kind of silence descended upon the group of heroes; eventually however, the hard-frowning Alwyn soon found anger re-asserting his body. With it powering his movement forward he began to stalk toward the sitting boy; realising the much taller Zoran was approaching with, seemingly hostile intent, Link widened his sky-shaded eyes in his direction, flinching in his rest but only just. In spite of the worried Navi's call he merely marched on brazenly.

"Alwyn no!"

Before he could reach the Kokiri's position however the similarly small form of the hard-frowning princess Ruto stepped in between them. Similarly surprised, the two warriors between her could only stare at her in a likewise shocked manner.

"R-Ruto..." Link muttered out, brow furrowing in genuine surprise.

"Get out... of my way Ruto..."

"No."

Uttering out a low-toned grunt of awe, Alwyn's eyebrows rose to match the bewilderment belying his bubbling rage. He began to gnash at the inside of his teeth as he slowly curled his fingers into fists.

"I won't ask you again...," he pressed on with an emphatic scrunching of his scowl at her. "Leave..."

"I said no!" Ruto shot back, this time seemingly much more confident; her eyes similarly narrowed to even his determination. Purely shocked at her response, the former Zoran knight growled back before shooting the watching Link a glare.

"You're protecting a liability Ruto..."

"He saved us!" She exclaimed in response; with effort filling her voice she further emphasised her words by throwing her hands to her sides in a defensive fashion as if to protect the Kokiri. "If it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be here and you know it." The young Zoran princess claimed, eyes narrowing with the quiet intensity her words carried with her. Realising the truth in her words, the listening Alwyn very begrudgingly let go of his fierce sentiment; with an annoyed grunt he swung his head to his side, whipping the severed head-fin he carried so uniquely. Opening his mouth however, he readied himself to speak once more, directing his words to the frowning Link.

"Well then... Link...," he started with a hardened glower; the similarly firm-frowning youth from Kokiri Forest sat up further to rest his right arm across his raised right knee. "I guess it's time we filled each other in... huh...?"

–

2

"I... apologise...," Alwyn finally admitted and not without some difficulty; the scowl his face took, though normal, had grown since the discussion somewhat. "I had no idea what a struggle it's been for you two..." He murmured on out as he stared at nothing in particular, his back facing the similarly hard-frowning boy behind him. Perhaps similarly surprised, the frowning princess Ruto of the Zoras could only turn to face the blonde youth behind her, a strange kind of look in her indigo eye.

I don't like that look, Link thought.

Malon had that look.

"It's most definitely been trying," Navi agreed as she hovered not far from the tall Zoran ahead of her. "The only person that's ever even known about this besides us was a companion of ours... and those who did know have already..."

Realising she was referring to the deceased Barkner, Link found his secret shame returning to him; with a melancholy-filled mood shaping his face, he turned his eyes away from the group in display of his disgrace.

Even the mere prospect of this truth being leaked and, worst of all to Darunia of the Gorons, completely and utterly terrified the young boy.

"I know you well enough by now to know it's not you."

That voice, so strong and confident, by now Link had to recognise as belonging to the hardened-faced Alwyn, about-turning to saunter over.

"You... helped us," the Zoran soldier at last acknowledged, re-raising his oceanic eyes up to frown at the surprised blonde boy's. "When that man from the desert pushed us up against a wall... you peeled us from it," Alwyn spoke, his tone unusually soft and his light frown to match. Slowly and, ever so slightly, a smile began to grow on his expression as he outstretched his right hand forward. "Thanks... Link."

At last witnessing the stoic soldier call him by his first name in a display of respect, Link's sky-blue eyes widened in a display of sheer shock. Unwilling to let the moment pass however he grew his own smile as he reached forward with his own hand to shake the man's before him.

"Glad to have helped." The little Kokiri smiled back widely, his morale having been regrown. With a single low smile, Alwyn finally released his hand and turned presumably to leave.

"Hmph...," he intoned out lowly before gifting the group of three one last look over his shoulder, hanging at the doorway. "Don't be a stranger now." The Zoran warrior grinned lowly; Link's smile merely widened back in response before he swiftly nodded. Seemingly satisfied, Alwyn turned to leave, the door left ajar behind him. Now at last left alone, Ruto turned her concerned frown over to the curious-faced Navi; unsure at first she merely stared back before decisively realising her silent intentions.

"I'll... wait for you outside will I?" Navi shot over, an odd kind of grin in the tone of her words. Link found himself watching her carefully and unsurely; darting them between the frowning Ruto and the hovering Navi he attempted to work the odd tonal shift in the atmosphere.

"Why is she...?"

Sure enough, Link's inward queries were magnified by double at the very least when he found the frowning Ruto about-turning to face him. He double-took in her direction, unsure on the odd mood in the air, before soon narrowing at her in suspicion when she began to slowly stroll toward him.

"I know Alwyn already thanked you, but...," she began, her tone unusually tender; as she approached the mattress he rested on he found himself shrinking back out of instinct. Ruto's frown very slowly morphed into a light smile upon her blue lips as she began to creep onto the bed before her. "I thought I should... let you know myself." The princess smiled very softly, resting herself in a high-postured seat. She placed her hand daintily across her right hip as she faced him, a very calculating look in her purplish eye.

Oh no, Link thought.

I think I know where this is heading.

"You're strong... stronger than I thought you were when I first met you," she admitted, shuffling closer to him; in response, the unsure blonde boy found himself shrinking back to the wall damning behind him. "And so warm...," she added, resting her cerulean hand softly across his own left one; surprised, he flinched but chose not to wrench it away from hers. "Not like that demon..."

In a comically anxiety-filled frown, Link found himself wishing for Kage Narumono to scare the Zoran princess off.

Please go away, he thought desperately.

"I believe you were... after that blue shining stone weren't you...?" Ruto sounded out toward him in a knowing light grin. Surprised once again, Link's sky-shaded eyes widened when he realised she was correct.

The Spiritual Stone, he thought.

We need it.

I could take it from her like this...

But wouldn't that be wrong...?

"It's okay...," she smiled in a low-facing chuckle, almost as if reading his very mind; curious, he raised a straw-shaded eyebrow at her. "I know what you want..."

Sure enough, she reached into the confines of her body to retrieve the shining and humming azure sapphire; with its luminous cerulean light, it spun very slowly in her hand as she held it out toward him. Exchanging an unsure look with her, Link found himself questioning whether or not to reach for it; the mischievous look in her eye managed to successfully unsettle him. Regardless however, the youth opted to very carefully stretch his fingers forward to rest on the Zora's Sapphire humming so enviably in her grip. Just as he touched its bright blue surface however he felt the sly Zoran's free hand suddenly grasp at his; surprised, he shot his blushing faced frown up to face her only to find Ruto smiling deviously back at him, her indigo eyes half-closed as she did. Pulling him toward her, with alarming strength, she used his outstretched arm and pulled him close presumably for some kind of embrace. The final whisper she left him with as she leaned close to his lips, a smile on her tone, left him reeling.

"Just don't tell my father..."

~

"Sure was nice of Alwyn and king Zora to gift us this raft."

Keeping his attention downward and directly away from his young fairy companion, Link grunted as he gripped at the sail on the hardwood vessel he stood in, confirming its safety before standing atop it with a frown.

"Huh?" He queried out; though he had heard his guardian fairy's words exactly he chose not to acknowledge them.

She's going to ask about her I bet, he thought.

"I said it was nice of Alwyn and king Zora to help us out with the raft," she reiterated, a funny kind of tone in her voice; Link sensed it, his nerves expectant and ready. "Nice of the princess too."

Yeah; there it is, Link thought silently, rolling his eyes.

"You know I hear in Zoran culture that, in gifting you their most precious possession, you become engaged to that person," the little cobalt fairy's words echoed into the air. Link resisted the urge to swat her out of the sky as he pulled at some rope in order to make way. "Did Ruto give you that stone in a similar-?"

"Yes, all right? She did," Link fiercely interrupted the jokey tone in the guardian fairy's voice, an annoyed frown adorning his own as he nodded to his side as if to acknowledge her but only briefly. He let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his bandaged right hand across the flat-boat's centre-piece. "Thank the goddesses I'm a Kokiri...," he muttered, narrowing his eyes forward. "We can laugh this off in a couple of years' time."

"Yeah... I guess so," Navi chuckled regardless, throwing her mischievously smiling tone over shoulder before soon facing forward. "I don't like those clouds...," she spoke, her tone finally reverting to its normal caution. "Looks like it's gonna be a rough ride down to Hyrule Castle..."

"Yeah, maybe..." Link agreed somewhat, raising his own eyes to frown up at the metallic sky above. Though the Zoras (and the teary-eyed Malon) had insisted he stay another night, the heroes had wanted desperately to end their quest; with all three of their country's Spiritual Stones, all they had to do now was make the last leg to the castle and then... at last...

Go back home.

The sheer prospect was enough for them to get going as soon as humanly possible.

"If we hurry down...," the young Kokiri began with a light grunt almost as if to strengthen the force behind kicking the raft down into the luscious waterfall beneath him. "Then we'll beat the storm!"

SPLASH

Endless generous drops of aquatic-blue sung through the air in every divisive direction around the pair and their modestly-sized hardwood vessel.

"Eek!" Navi managed out, just barely able to dart out of the incoming blades of wildly flailing water. "Be more careful!" She called over angrily at the cheeky youthful grin on the listening Link.

"Trust me; we keep this pace up...," he began as he narrowed his eyes at his unblocked winding path down Zora's River, his confident grin widening ever so slightly. "We'll be home in time for dinner."

–

3

In spite of his earlier assurance, Link found their path to be very rocky indeed, just as Navi had warned him earlier on; with a frightening turn of events, the metal-coloured clouds began to channel lightning. Reacting in quick-succession with Hyrule's unruly and foreboding weather, the Zoran River became racked with cataclysms that one would only expect from the fierce ocean. Thankfully however, once they eventually came within distance of their destination, the river began to calm. Groaning with effort, Link held his boot out to grasp at the grassy land fast-approaching in front of him.

TMP

"What an adventure...," Link muttered out as he stepped off of the vessel, dusting himself off of the water that had moisturised his Kokiri Tunic. "What a story...," he frowned on out as he watched the raft leave toward the small bridge leading to Kakariko Village. "I wonder how Saria'll feel when we return..." He postulated quietly to himself, a small smile gracing his child-like complexion as he turned to leave toward his final destination.

Hyrule Castletown.

Oddly enough, even though the sun was still well on its way to setting Link found the sconces of the building he knew so well having been lit.

That's strange, he thought.

He picked up his pace; something inside of him told him that something was wrong.

"What's up?"

Navi's call, so calm and upbeat, nearly made him trip his tone up.

"I... I don't know, it's...," Link murmured back, cobalt eyes narrowing around as if for the cause. As if to respond to him somehow light drops of rain, slow at first and then quick; like lashing bolts. He raised up his thin arms to block it from his squinting eyed view as he marched forward through the wet grass. "I don't like this..."

A similarly unsettling feeling washed over him as he began to make the final approach to the castle; noticing the drawbridge having been pulled up he clicked his tongue in an annoyed scrunch-up of his frown.

"I don't want to have to camp out here all night..." He lamented, his tone a mournful light echo.

"We could always just go to Kakariko in the we-"

CHIK-CHIK-WHIRR...

Link's navy-blue eyes widened in a display of shock, unable to believe the events taking place before him.

"But that's..."

ROAR-RUMBLE...

The distant, far-off sound of the thunder and lightning drowned his low-voiced murmurs out into the cold wind of Hyrule Field.

WHIRRRR-CLUNK

A foreboding and anxiety-filled kind of silence plummeted down upon the pair of heroes as they stood staring over at the now lowered drawbridge to Hyrule Castletown. Somehow sensing her companion's unease, the similarly tense Navi quietened herself to sheer silence as she hovered close-by.

CRASH-RUMBLE...

As the last remote growl of thunder echoed into the distance, a blip slowly came into focus deep inside Hyrule Castletown marketplace. Narrowing his eyes at the sight, Link soon recognised its white shade rushing toward him.

"Look!"

In spite of Navi's call he saw it regardless.

I already know who that is, somehow, he thought.

But if that's Zelda...

Then...

Before long the blue of white began to materialise ahead of him and, narrowing his eyes, Link athletically leapt to his right. Skidding across the blades of wet grass beneath him he watched the snow-white horse zoom past him, galloping with two passengers atop it. Merely catching the blurring sight of the horrified princess rushing off behind him, he also managed to note armoured form of his old mentor Impa seemingly commanding the horse they rode on. With a sleeve raised up to block and protect her closed mouth she looked every bit a ninja-like operative. Exhaling a high-pitched grunt, Hyrule's princess leaned back and abruptly tossed a zooming cerulean blur spinning through the sky. Link's eyebrows rose with it and, attempting to follow it unsuccessfully, he could only follow its arc of flight.

SPLASH

That couldn't be, he thought.

Surely not?

"L-Link! Behind you...!"

Navi's urgent tone, surprising him, made the alarmed youth about-turn to face what was so pressing.

When he did, he almost wished he hadn't.

With a loud neigh, the blackened horse the presence behind him at last dropped to the ground to rest, a familiar armoured man on its back.

The Gerudo king from the window in Zelda's courtyard.

The one she called 'Ganondorf'.

"Curses...!" He whispered out in an angered hiss, scrunching his dark-green face up in a disappointed scowl. "She got away..." The desert's monarch growled out, defeated. Double-taking to his lower left however he rose his two flaming eyebrows in recognition, catching sight of the horror-faced blonde boy beneath him.

Oh no, Link thought silently.

"Ah... you!" He addressed, amber eyes narrowing down at him. "Kid!"

The green-garbed Kokiri flinched visibly as he spoke, his nerves raw.

"You must have witnessed that... a horse, white as winter just flew by...," he explained very judiciously, a business-like frown adorned to spice his frown up. "Now... which way did you see it go...?" He asked, a surprisingly calm tone to his deep bass-like voice.

Link gulped down a load of saliva, anxiety and apprehension kneading away at him.

"I asked you a question boy...," the newly glowering Ganondorf warned, his tone taking on a cautionary vibe. "I'd like an answer..."

Calling upon whatever courage he had left, Link's own oceanic eyes narrowed back at his eternal enemy before reaching up for his trusted Kokiri Sword.

SHING

With no Deku Shield to support him he stood in a half-leant hard frown, readying himself to move at a moment's notice.

An unnatural and awkward silence descended down upon the hostile pair before, finally, Ganondorf's firm scowl slowly upturned into an amused smirk.

"Hmph...," he chuckled, his canine shining in the lashing rain. "Impressive moxie..."

With his compliment echoing into the dark air around them, the Gerudian king's entertained smile soon switched to the scrunched-up scowl he was known for. Raising up his left arm he leant his fiery-haired head to the side as he glared back at the boy; eventually, a sphere of what appeared to be light energy charged in the centre of his dark-green palm and yet, around it, seemed to be a purplish-coloured Aegir powering it.

Darkness shaped into magic.

Link widened his eyes and cracked his free left knuckles at his hip's side, readying himself to leap in evasion. The watching Ganondorf soon widened his own amber-coloured eyes however and fired the sphere of Quintessence at the blonde Kokiri. Shocked at the sheer speed of which the ball of Aegir flew at, Link could barely witness it let alone evade it.

CRASH-BZZT...

With an agony-filled yelp of physical pain, Link was sent sprawling across the wet terrain of Hyrule Field, a mix of darkness and magical energy rubbing into his old wounds. Bleeding at the side of his mouth and across his earlier injuries in Jabu Jabu's belly, Link shot his angry scowl up to glare back at the firm-faced Ganondorf high above him.

"Pathetic...," he insulted, an appalled rise of his top lip as if in disgust at the youth beneath him. "Can you even begin to conceive who I am...?"

Gasping continually in the agony he suffered, Link merely stared back wordlessly at his much stronger opponent above him.

"I am Ganondorf!" He gave claim to at last, amber eyes widened in his low-held scowl. "And soon, this land and the world... will all be mine!"

With a final yell of effort, the hard-eyed Gerudian king cracked the reigns of his ebony-shaded horse and just like that, the man rode off into the rainy abyss, presumably in desperate search for the fleeing princess and her attendant.

"Link! Are you okay?!"

"Haa...," Link managed out, attempting to shakily stand to his feet seemingly with some difficulty; leaning his body to the side he slouched, barely able to hold onto the small-sword he carried let alone hold his own weight. Blood dripped down from his lightly open mouth as he glared over at riding Ganondorf, watching him disappear away into the darkness. "He was...," the boy tried, gasping through his words. "T-Too strong..."

"Thank the goddesses; you can still walk...," Navi breathed forward as she hovered around him, casting her concerned sea-like light on the injured youth. "Just take it easy..."

"Not even...," Link began in reply amidst his heavy breathing. "Not even close...," he managed to huff out, breathing sharply as he did so.

"Surely Kage could have...?"

Link shook his head in disquieting confirmation. "No...," he responded, using his free right arm to wipe at the boiling crimson of his body fluid. "I don't think even Kage's power could have beaten him..."

"But that's..."

Grunting, he reached inside of his burnt green tunic and put on a saddened frown when he realised the electricity from Ganondorf's attack had after-effects. Bringing out the ruined instrument his closest friend had gifted him with, he now carried the fairy ocarina in bits and broken parts. Gasping lowly, pressed them close to his frontal chest as he shut his eyes in a mixture of anger and agony; mostly at himself.

"I'm sorry Saria...," he cursed silently to himself, scrunching his face up in a scowl. "I wasn't strong enough..."

"Didn't princess Zelda throw us one of those?"

Surprised by the guardian fairy's words, Link shot his eyes up to frown at the blue ball of light before sharply drawing breath when he realised she was right.

He vaguely recalled watching her toss something into the gully nearby.

As the rain very gradually began to die down Link turned his now re-determined frown over to the moat adjacent to them.

~

"Link... can you hear me? It's me, Zelda..."

Finding himself watching what appeared to be the inside of a grand architecture, Link seemingly could only observe; standing at the foot of the long and luscious crimson carpet indeed was Hyrule's princess. She wore her recognisable white and purple royal dress, standing at the foot of what seemed to be an altar for something. Beyond that, a long and large door.

Am I dreaming, Link thought silently to himself.

"Link, when you hold this ocarina in your hand...," she began again, her mezzo-soprano voice echoing into the dream-like air. "I won't be around anymore; I wanted to wait for you... I have so much to apologise for, but I couldn't delay any longer."

In spite of her words' intention, Link found himself watching in some form of suspicion.

"You are this country's only hope left; I leave this ocarina and, this song, to you..."

The three notes she played reverberated across the walls of the strange dimension the two appeared to share together. Narrowing his ocean-like eyes, Link raised the royal-blue ocarina up to his lips and shut them to concentrate.

In playing those notes, he felt the odd white background of the area he resided in grow even brighter; scrunching his face up to block the unnatural light he listened further to Zelda's guiding words.

"Now, Link... play this melody in front of the altar in the Temple of Time... you must protect the Holy Triforce!"

–

4

Just as he had expected, the level of chaos within Hyrule Castletown marketplace was high indeed; enough to make the watching Link tense up. Men, women and children all screamed and hollered as they pushed past one another in a mad frenzy; grunting as he was knocked to and fro, the limpid-eyed Link attempted to keep his balance as he marched carefully through the market. Realising very quickly that the erupting anarchy would be more trouble than it was worth to wade through, Link made the final choice to take the back streets. Dragging himself through the back alley, he attempted to ignore the aching wounds on his body.

"Link... this'll just take more time!" Navi's urgent and frantic call came from the back.

"I know..."

"Every second counts! We have to get there as soon as-"

"I know!" He interrupted, his voice bouncing off the walls of the empty avenue. Gasping out, as if for air and energy, Link's sweaty-headed frown lowered as he attempted to steady himself. "I'm... sorry Navi; I-I know, I just...," he began again, his bright-cobalt eyes shutting as if in effort. "I can't push through all those people... not like this..."

Understanding, Navi merely remained silent as the gasping Link attempted to regain his strength.

"Unngh..."

Surprised by the voice's sudden but soft interruption, Link held back a startled gasp as he swivelled his head 'round to his right in his slow death-like march. Finding a similarly agony-filled body before him he couldn't help but frown back sadly.

A solitary soldier lay against the wall covered in many brutal, bleeding wounds.

We look like we belong in a doctor's surgery, Link thought with a mirthless low chuckle.

"Y-You...! Over... here...!"

Realising he was being addressed and called over by the fallen guard, the frowning Link shambled over as quickly as he could without falling over in his own injured state. Now standing over him in a similarly weakened form, Link stared down at the Hyrulean soldier, gripping at his damaged left arm. Reaching up, the soldier gasped in a series of short and painful breaths as he attempted to seemingly gesture toward the blonde boy.

"Are you... the boy f-from the forest...?" He requested, squinting forward seemingly from intense physical pain.

Able to sympathise, Link couldn't help but frown softly at the man; offering him a simple confirming nod in response. This time, the Hylian soldier nodded back, smiling as if in relief.

"At-At last...," he laughed, lowering his helmeted head in his odd amusement. "I was... afraid I'd... die down here..." The nameless Hylian chuckled before soon halting as his injuries appeared to irritate him; displaying this with a very telling grimace he briefly shut his eyes.

Raising a curious blonde eyebrow Link waited for the man to continue.

"The p-princess was right...," he grunted out, his breathing terribly laborious; as he finished his sentence, he re-opened his eyes to face the similarly tired youth. "Ganondorf... of the Gerudo betrayed our king...," he explained very briefly. "The princess' attendant, Impa, somehow knew... we don't know where she is but at least they're safe..." The man whispered out, lowering his head as if in thankful prayer.

Link exchanged a firm look with the spectating Navi and nodded; the information seemed to coincide with what happened in Hyrule Field.

"I tried... goddess help me I tried...," he growled out, this time scrunching his face up in an angry, hardened scowl. "She was... was waiting for you...," the man managed out, re-opening his eyes as he faced the youth once more. "If-If you g-got what s-she wanted to... then... go to... the T-Temple of..."

Widening his eyes as he listened Link could only watch as the nameless soldier before him suddenly gasped and, with that exhale, jerked his outstretched hand toward the young Kokiri as if to cry out for help.

Eventually however the man's writhing was abruptly put to an end when he dropped his hand and, with it, the rest of his body. Now laying wordlessly against the wall behind him a knowing chill ran up Link's spine.

This was the second time he had witnessed a person dying.

"He's... not moving... anymore..."

Navi's quietened whisper made the watching Link re-affirm his resolve; putting on a hardened frown he merely attempted to continue his march, shambling through the back alleys of Hyrule Castletown. His destination was, at least, fully set; that fabled place Zelda had once told him about.

The Temple of Time.

~

Still heavily wounded from his albeit short altercation with the Gerudian king, Link's death march was filled with a kind of determination he had not since displayed.

"Link this may be a mistake!" Navi warned him for the umpteenth time, hovering close-by. "Something inside of me tells me it's the wrong thing to-"

"I know Navi...," Link gasped back as he lowered his shut-eyed frown, finally reaching the end of the altar in the large hall of the religious temple. Re-raising it to face the shrine before him he set his eyes on the inscription above. "But I have to do something..."

Ye who own the Holy Land's three Spiritual Stones

Stand with the Ocarina of Time

And play the Song of Time

Realising exactly what he had to do Link glared forward as he placed the Kokiri's Emerald, the Goron's Ruby and the Zora's Sapphire all on the podium before him. Then, reaching into his tunic, he pulled up the royal-blue ocarina of aristocratic design to play with.

"Here we go..."

The notes blew surprisingly softly and smoothly from the sophisticated musical instrument, floating into the air and echoing away. Sure enough, just as he lowered the ocarina from his mouth he caught the sight of the large Triforce symbol above the long door light up in a glorious show of gold. Link's cobalt-blue eyes narrowed forward determinedly.

This was it.

SHIIING...

RUMBLE... WHIRR...

DROOM

Along with the luminous halcyon light that lit up the triad of triangles before him, the stone-like door parted, just as he had expected. Staring with a hard-eyed glare, the youth nodded as he shambled forward in a slow and ungraceful march, his wounds still weighing him down.

"Link this is crazy; you're heavily impaired! We can't go on; we have to find a doctor!"

"That's assuming anyone's even still in the city Navi...," Link managed out as he ascended each step up the altar one at a time. He lowered his blonde and bloody head, his eyes briefly shut before soon re-raising it to frown forward. "Have to... protect... the Triforce..." He gasped out with a hardened scowl of effort; the boiling crimson of his blood very slowly dropped in very small beads as he walked, staining the otherwise pristine white of the temple behind him. Stepping through the darkness of the Door of Time, Link's blue eyes narrowed forward at the sight before him; seemingly similarly sensing his staring, the hovering Navi opened her mouth to voice her thoughts.

"Link... isn't that...?!"

Her shocked breath echoed out into the holy air that the Temple of Time appeared to exude; as she finished her sentence she soon bounded in a slow hover forward. Flying her fairy wings up the stone-like slope of steps leading up two very short flights, she began to circle 'round the shining steel in the light of the room; seemingly the centrepiece.

"It's that legendary blade..." She began, her soft but slow and fierce tone soon raising to match her realisation.

Link's brow furrowed in concentration as he listened and waited for her to finish, visibly entranced by her words.

"The Master Sword!"

Somehow, in spite of the name's foreign origin, Link found the word familiar to his Kokiri ears.

But how?

"What's going on...?" He breathed out amidst his heavy breathing; marching slowly into the large room he took a good look around only to find darkness 'round the long corners. "Where's the Triforce...?"

Gasping as he ascended up the two flights of stairs with great difficulty, the young blonde boy laid his sky-like eyes on the shining steel of the fabled weapon laying in the stone pedestal before him. In examining the deep-blue hilt of the blade he found a similarly gold jewel-like piece in its front just above the blade itself. With the Holy Triforce symbol resting on the firm steel of the blade it stared back at him in an upside down formation; his oceanic eyes followed the weapon to its resting place.

A stone much like the rest of the holy church's building and yet different somehow; as he gazed into the third symbol of the Holy Triforce he witnessed Link found himself realising this was what the country's princess had once told him about.

This was a key to the 'Sacred Realm'; the resting place of the 'Sainted Three's Holy Triforce.

"Link... I know what you're thinking..."

Navi's words softly carried over to the hard-eyed frown of the young Kokiri; he stared back down at the long double-edged broadsword, as if hungry.

"But this could be a mistake...," she advised further, flitting her wings back down to his level. "Even I only know very little about this..."

"I know..."

"For all we know...," she began, her tone entering a cautionary, worried one. "It could kill you."

She was right.

This was something even the royal family knew very little of; probably something even the Great Deku Tree could not inform him of.

"But it's because of that...," the youth thought to himself, eyes narrowing down at the divine weapon. "That may be the best bet yet..."

With those dangerous thoughts echoing through his young eleven year old mind Link stepped forward and, reaching into whatever small strength he had left within him, stepped onto the pedestal before him.

"Link! No!"

Wrapping his coarse fingers around the deep-cerulean of the Master Sword's hilt, he narrowed his eyes down determinedly at it.

"If I do die... Navi...," Link began carefully, edging his eyes to his left in a narrowed firm frown. "Promise me you'll flee."

"Link I-"

"Promise me."

The uncomfortable silence that descended down upon the pair seemed to weigh heavily before, finally, Navi at last nodded in reluctant confirmation.

"Yes, Link...," the guardian fairy spoke in a hesitant frowning tone. "I promise."

Link, realising his final task at hand, re-hovered his eyes forward and narrowed down at the holy blade in his hands.

If I can pull this, he thought inwardly, eyes glaring down at the shining steel.

Will I be strong enough to stop him?

"There's only one way to find out..."

"Hut...!"

SCHWING

Along with the echoing sound of the holy steel leaving its podium Link, shocked, stared directly up at the windowed ceiling high above him as he successfully drew the broadsword from its resting place. His high morale was soon shaken however when he caught the sight of, and felt, the sound and appearance of a sky-blue barrier perhaps made of Aegir itself.

Though he managed to make out the movement of Navi's similarly cerulean sphere of light he could not detect her voice, presumably calling out to him. As the blue barrier of light ascended upward Link's consciousness drifted in and out, as if sleep was fast-approaching. It was only when he saw the after-image of a figure that he realised he had made a grave mistake. The image of a victoriously smirking face he had just recently seen within Hyrule Field flashed before him almost as if knowing of his meteoric blunder.

Deep masculine laughter reverberated across the walls of the divine-like realm he inhabited; the final reflection that triggered his state to unconsciousness.


	22. Awaken to the Nightmare; A Land Conquered in Darkness

Chapter 22: Awaken to the Nightmare; A Land Conquered in Darkness  
Realisation of the Prophecy Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "File Select" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Chamber of Sages" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 1 (First Half).

–

Having finally located the Zoran people's princess, Link undergoes an ill-fated quest to search for and locate Ruto's Spiritual Stone – the Zora's Sapphire. In finding this however they also come face-to-face with an intruder; a mysterious and cloaked schemer of the darkness, his powerful man with an unnatural kind of Aegir. When located, he summons a corpse itself to do battle with the young Kokiri; though Link manages to fight bravely he barely scratches the surface of the supernatural entity and is forced once again to rely on Kage Narumono's incredibly demonic powers.

Separated from the group, the Zoran warrior Alwyn and guardian fairy Navi continue their search for the missing Zoran princess and their Kokiri companion; in doing so they manage to locate and rectify all the irregularities Lord Jabu Jabu had suffered at the hands of the disingenuous Ganondorf. Following this, the pair of heroes eventually catch up to the blazing trail of Link, Ruto and Kage Narumono; in doing so however they soon find themselves in hard confrontation with the second demonic side of Link, the manifestation of the chaotic side of the Holy Triforce's Aegir.

Though Kage easily exorcises the summoned corpse he struggles to deal with the highly skilled former soldier that is Alwyn of the Zoran people. With a special kind of training, having fought through the great Hyrulean civil war, Alwyn manages to beat back the crazed and infernal Kage with sheer skill and martial arts. However, though he succeeds, he stays his hand in 'eliminating the threat', much to the watching Malon, Ruto and Navi's relief for fear of their companion's life.

Pressing on, Link manages to make peace and even form a mutual respect with the former Zoran soldier Alwyn; promising one another to remain friends even after all the horrors they witness. Tendering her own thanks to the young blonde boy, princess Ruto of the Zoras allows him to have at her Zora's Sapphire but only as agreement of a pledge for engagement. Though he feels somewhat guilty as, being a Kokiri in never-aging, he agrees regardless in an effort to end his quest.

Pressing forward, Link meets with and re-enacts the horrible re-occurring nightmare he suffered for years; in doing so however he meets very briefly with Zelda, receives her treasured tool and is wounded by the object of their antagonism, the lord king Ganondorf. Having displayed his control of his monstrous Aegir over his own, Link is easily outmatched by the older man; with the treasured Ocarina of Time however the young Kokiri gains an edge.

An edge not so comfortably won.

In learning the sacred 'Song of Time', Link puts everything in the rest of his weakened state to returning his country's three Spiritual Stones to the church-like Temple of Time. Though Navi warns him against it, having great anxiety and unease at their situation, Link presses on regardless; in doing so, the pair of heroes manage to discover an incredible sight indeed.

The Master Sword.

Unable to believe it, Link makes the worried Navi promise to leave should he fail in drawing the blade from the Pedestal of Time; he pulls the divine weapon from its resting place and, like magic, is frozen in time.

Just like the mountains in winter...

–

Scene 1

Glup... gloop... splash...

"Link..."

A familiar voice in the great white abyss echoed on out into the air, reverberating hauntingly across the invisible walls of the dimension they resided in. Deep and bass-like in its tone, the blonde boy managed to make it out clearly very easily and yet still he could not place the owner.

I know who that is, he thought.

But... who...?

"Awaken... Hero of Time... Fourth aberration..."

Gradually and soon as well the whiteness of his vision stabilised into a sea of blue; gasping lightly as he scanned his similarly oceanic eyes across his new surroundings, he couldn't help but feel disorientated. Around him appeared to be multi-coloured islands divided by a bright-blue watery surface; he briefly caught the sight of a purple island before double-taking on the one dead centre ahead of him.

A short robed man appeared to be standing directly in the heart of the sun-shaded podium; a similarly-attired man, seemingly of the cloth. The hot crimson of the front of his robes went very well with the calming apricot of the rest. Though he was a stocky man and not anyone Link should have recognised, the long and bushy grey handlebar moustache he wore told a different story.

There was something off about it; something recognisable.

But that's impossible, he thought.

I've never met this man.

"Calm yourself...," the mysterious man cryptically stated, his low voice knocking soothingly across the deep-blue ocean of the surface below them. "I... am Rauru," he finally introduced himself with, a hardened frown to his surprisingly firm features. "Ancient Sage of Light."

"W-Wha-" Link managed out, his eyes widened but not at the old man's words; realising how much deeper his voice sounded to his Kokiri ears he gasped.

What in the name of the Great Deku Tree is going on?

"Link... do not be frightened," Rauru spoke over softly, furrowing his brow at the youth. "Use your eyes... look at yourself!"

Narrowing his eyes with a half-suspicious frown on his face, Link did just that; he reached his head forward and used the water's reflection below to gaze at himself.

He held back from gasping a second time when he did.

A stranger stared back at him.

"L-Link! You've grown up!"

Navi's voice.

Realising she was behind him, he swerved his head 'round with his wide-eyed stare to register her with his shock. Unable to find the words with which to respond, he merely stared back and shook his head.

That's impossible, he thought.

I can't have grown up.

And yet there it was in the very reflection he had stared at; the taller body, the longer legs, brawnier arms and broader torso.

He looked every bit the human adult males he had seen nonchalantly in Kakariko Village or Hyrule Castletown.

"What's...?" Link began a second time, re-turning his blonde head to frown forward in his bewildered state. Becoming uncomfortably reminded of the newly unfamiliar baritone of his new voice he winced, longing for his old high-pitched and familiar tenor. "What's happened to me...? Why am I like this?"

"I realise you must have a thousand questions about all of this... but I can only tell you so much," Rauru spoke in an apologetic crease of his wizened features. "Seven years have passed."

Link's aquatic eyes widened in a mixture of horror and puzzlement.

"For you I imagine it will have passed... within the blink of an eye," the self-proclaimed Sage of Light remarked; in doing so he raised up his left sleeved arm to click his fingers mid-sentence as if to emphasise his words. "Think hard... what was the last thing that you remember?"

Blinking curiously back at the frowning Sage, Link found himself furrowing his brow once more in thought.

"I...," he began, creasing his own features in a scrunch, shaking his straw-haired head in some attempt to access his memories. "Y-Yeah...," he nodded, turning his eyes down in thought. "I... think I remember... pulling the-"

Nodding, Rauru opted to interrupt the green-garbed youth. "The Master Sword."

Turning his head back up in surprise, Link re-set his frown to a curious one and strained his ears to listen.

"In very ancient times... times of the holy goddess Hylia..."

Rauru's words, referring to a name Link recognised, made him raise his eyebrows in recognition.

"We Sages built this Temple of Time that housed the divine relic you possess now in an effort to protect the entrance to the Sacred Realm," the robed Sage explained briefly. "This, my boy...," he began once more, narrowing his dull-cobalt eyes forward. "This... is the Sacred Realm."

Realising this was the very dimension he was hoping to have protected, Link's eyebrows shot up both in recognition and wonder. Perhaps reading his mind however, the hard-frowning Rauru continued.

"Or... what remains of it...," he managed out, a lower tone of voice as his eyes very briefly wandered down to his lower left as if in saddening somehow. Link furrowed his brow once more as he listened dutifully and unusually patiently. "As you are probably no doubt aware... Ganondorf used you in a bid to access this forbidden plane and the ultimate power that lies within." The robed man disclosed in a similarly sincere frown.

"B-But I..." Link stammered back in response, an aching fold and wrinkle to the saddened expression of his own; he reached ahead with his long left arm, as if to outstretch the volume of his words. Sensing his intentions once again however, Rauru spoke for the newly awakened hero.

"I know...," he allayed in a displaying nod. "Your intentions were pure, if, very naïve... just like the princess..."

Link's eyes widened for the umpteenth time and, once more, in recognition.

"Zelda?!" The older Kokiri shot out with, his voice similarly anxious in tone. "Seven years... is she okay?!"

"I... cannot say," Rauru shook his head apologetically. "It is not my place."

Though the youth was disappointed in his answer, he merely lowered his twitching frown to match the turn his eyes took.

"Just as she told you... the Master Sword that you pulled from the Pedestal of Time was the final key to opening the doorway to the Sacred Realm," the religiously dressed old man continued on. "It is a sacred blade that those steeped in corruption may never touch," he claimed, nodding his head forward; tracing his stare, Link found himself absent-mindedly reaching for the sky-blue hilt of the long broadsword resting across his back, eyes narrowing. "Only one worthy of the title 'Hero of Time' may draw it from its divine resting place."

There were those words again, Link thought, his oceanic eyes narrowing.

'Hero of Time'.

What does it even mean?

"You were... much too young... to be the Hero of Time," he further explained, hesitatingly only briefly; as the listening Kokiri recognised his words, he listened dutifully and interested in the turn the conversation was going. "And so your very Aegir and soul was sealed here for seven long years."

Link's frown twitched in disappointment but barely noticeably as he listened; he had hoped for more information on why he had grown up past the age of eleven.

But no luck.

"Now...," Rauru began again, a light smile upon on his old lips. "It is time!" He called out, his once reassuring voice now passionately bouncing off the walls of the waterfalls in the dream-like dimension they stood in. "You now awaken in response to the calamity that is Ganondorf and his takeover of our grand country!"

Link's eyebrows rose up in surprise as he listened.

Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule?

It's been seven years, he reminded silently to himself, lowering his eyes.

A lot has probably happened on the outside.

Realising that however he couldn't help but hold back another shocked gasp.

The Kokiri Forest, he thought.

Saria!

"Steel thy nerves my son... for I am about to impart to you the origin of your true destiny."

Pulling his blonde head back up from his inward thoughts, Link furrowed his brow forward.

"You... are an anomaly; the fourth anomaly." Rauru finished, deep-blue eyes narrowing.

"An-A what...?" Link managed out, blinking unsurely.

"An anomaly; an oddity, a small part of a much larger sum of people that occupy our ages."

Link's blank stare was all Rauru needed.

Lowering his bald-headed front in a well-meaning chuckle he shook it once before re-opening his mouth to continue. "Of all the people in all the world... why do you think the Master Sword chose you?"

Taken aback by the man's question, Link found himself blinking once before briefly flitting his eyes over to the sky-blue hilt hanging on his back.

Rauru's smile slowly returned to his face. "Then I shall speak plain...," he began with a brief shut of his eyes before soon re-opening them and speaking. "You are the Goddess Sword's second... and the fourth of your line of heroes."

"W-What do you mean? My family-"

"Not your direct family... no," Rauru countered with a soft shake of his head; Link gasped in exclamation as he listened dutifully. "I call you an anomaly because... well...," he began, lowering his head with a light chuckle, as if finding his notions amusing. "You are one my son," the Sage of Light grinned. "You are the fourth anomaly."

"You mean... incarnations, don't you."

Navi's sudden interruption made the listening pair snap their eyes over to the hovering little ball of light. Sure enough, Rauru at last nodded along with the guardian fairy's sentiments.

Exhaling his next exclamation of revelation, Link turned his azure eyes up to frown back at the old man's voice above him.

"There will be plenty of time for you to see your friends; I promise you that they are safe," he smiled; Link couldn't help but smile slowly and softly back, his worries being allayed. "But remember...," Rauru reminded, his hardened frown returning to his expression. "In this kingdom, Ganondorf's rule is law," he clarified with an emphatic narrow of his eyes; Link let out a tortured angry groan as he listened. "You must be careful in moving throughout the country."

Link raised a curious eyebrow as he listened.

Was Rauru expecting him to just jump at this?

He can't seriously be expecting-

"My power now... only has little influence... even in this Sacred Realm," he informed, cutting the young man off mid-thought. "But there is still hope...," he called out, narrowing his sea-blue eyes at the older Kokiri before him, lowering his head ever so slightly. "When the power of all the Sages awaken... the Sages' Seals will contain all the evil power in the void of the Sacred Realm..."

In his explanation, Rauru's smile slowly returned to his expression and Link at last recognised his voice to his face.

This was Kaepora Gaebora.

Perhaps acknowledging the boy's discerning, Rauru's smile only widened as he re-opened his mouth to continue. "I, Rauru, am one of these ancient Sages...," he began before nodding forward at the blonde youth. "Your power to fight together with the Sages makes you the Hero of Time!"

Link's oceanic eyes narrowed in response; he found himself glaring back at the elderly man as a result of listening to that term once more.

It was beginning to grate on him.

"Keep my spirit with you, my son...," he started once more, regaining his hardened frown as he nodded again. "Locate the strength of the other Sages... and add their might to your own!"

With that, the robed Sage of Light turned his two long-sleeved arms skyward to join his frowning head.

FLASH

To match the bright-white beam of light that hit his eyes, the sound of a shimmering orb began to plummet down from the sky; Link winced as he raised up his arms to reach out for the falling sphere of glare. Sure enough, as it finally came within view, he found himself staring back at coin-shaped medallion. Rotating in the air of which he held it in, Link caught the symbol of the Holy Triforce on its back and the symbol of the island in which Rauru himself stood on.

FLASH

With that lasting burst of light, Link found himself shutting his eyes to break out the glare as a single voice reverberated across his ears.

"Find the other Sages and save Hyrule!"

~

SHIIING...

As the high-pitched whine that appeared to be Aegir carrying him along echoed out into the air, Link re-opened his cobalt eyes, frowning forward.

Darkness.

A single light from the window high above him was the only succour from whatever blackness lay amidst the Temple of Time's dark abyss.

I remember here, Link thought; his eyes drawn down to the Pedestal of Time laying below him.

Now that he was taller, it felt odder to stand so high above it.

"Why...?" He murmured out raising his left open palm to gaze down at it longingly. "I... I don't understand..." The youth whispered, closing his fingers into a clenching fist as he shut his eyes as if to emphasise his passion at the question with which he asked.

"Have seven years really passed...?"

He re-opened his cerulean eyes and raised his blonde head to catch the similarly sky-blue shade of his guardian fairy, hovering nearby the bright light that shone in from the window high above. Link lowered his head once more and shook it, unsure.

"I... I don't know Navi," he answered, furrowing his brow in a defeated frown. "There's so much I just-" the young and curious Kokiri began out with a gasping finish, shaking his head a second time before finally sighing. "Don't know..." He ended, leaning himself to the side as he turned his straw-haired head to his right.

"Come on...," she called for him over her shoulder, very slowly drifting toward the exit of the Master Sword's chamber. "We should get going."

And do what exactly, Link found himself thinking back in response.

Choosing not to voice his silent concerns however, the youth merely sighed softly through his nose and marched on after her. It was only after descending down the first set of marble-stone steps however that Link's senses shot the hairs on the back of his neck up.

What is that, he thought.

A presence; something that was definitely strong, he could feel it in his Aegir, in his bones.

WHIZZ...

SCWING-CLANG

His eyes narrowed, Link immediately spun in place to clash his new double-edged sword with his enemy's blade, seemingly attached to their arm. Though he was leant to the side in his clash with the youth before him he managed to identify quite a lot from first glance.

The youth before him appeared to be a male in build, similar to his own; surprisingly, blonde shaggy hair similarly clung to his head, coming down over his now hidden left eye. His remaining right glared back into Link's sea-coloured gaze with a fiery crimson that seemed to remind the watching Kokiri of Impa somehow.

A Sheikah?

As if to confirm his very inward suspicions, further examination provided Link with a symbol upon the white front his opponent wore; one that he recognised with an odd little change. A single eye depicted in bright-red blood seemed to be crying a single drop.

I've seen that symbol on Gossip Stones, he thought.

Whoever this is, they're a Sheikah.

"I've been waiting for you...," the young man began lowly, his voice oddly soft and feminine in nature. His eye narrowed as he spoke his next sentence. "Hero of Time."

SKRR-SWISH

Pushing off of the divine Master Sword, the nameless Sheikah back-dashed to presumable safety and back up the last section of stone steps. Link narrowed his eyes at the youth suspiciously, leaning his body to his side carefully, expecting his new opponent to make another lunge at him.

"At long last you've appeared...," he began lowly, recovering from his skidding earlier to stand back up. "I was beginning to lose hope."

"Who in hell are you?" Link demanded crossly and rudely, glaring back at the shaggy-haired blonde before him. At first the nameless Sheikah appeared to blink his one visible fiery eye back at him before soon shifting to shut it, as if smiling somehow behind the pale turban and scarf he wore.

"Ah... I apologise," he began before re-opening his eye and bowing forward in respect; furrowing his brow as he listened and watched, Link slowly calmed his nerves. "I... am Sheik," he ultimately gave claim to. "Last surviving of the Sheikah."

"Sheikah...," Link repeated, watching the blonde with some form of suspicion. "Do you happen to know-?"

"Impa?"

Surprised, Link widened his bright-blue eyes in response, opting to close his mouth to allow the Sheikah to elaborate.

Sheik nodded briefly. "Yes," he started. "My aunt... my only family."

Link's eyes narrowed as he listened, unable to believe it.

Impa had family?

Wasn't she the last of her people?

And even if not then where was Zelda?

What is going on?!

"I can see you have many questions...," Sheik spoke for him, his voice echoing softly against the walls of the Pedestal of Time's chamber. He shook his shaggy-haired head however in a seeming low grin as he watched the youth before him, his weapon and Hylian Shield drawn together. "Even I thought the Master Sword was just myth... but here you are. The Hero of Time really does exist."

Link found his frown scrunching up to a short scowl as he listened intently.

I'm getting sick of that phrase, he thought.

"It's been hell out there...," Sheik continued, narrowing his one visible red eye forward. "I imagine Rauru's already told you..."

"Yeah...," Link at last gained the time to respond, turning his head very lightly to his side as he narrowed his eyes at the Sheikah before him. "Seven years... huh...?"

Sheik nodded, a grave look in his eye. "Indeed...," he answered. "After you opened the Door of Time, it gave Ganondorf the leverage he needed to access the Sacred Realm... and the Holy Triforce."

"You make it sound like my fault."

Silence.

The pair glared at one another, almost as if enemies once more in that short span of time. Link waited for a fight to break out at any moment, his nerves tensed up.

"I suppose it was in a sense...," Sheik at least spoke, glaring down at the green-garbed youth. "Whoever it was that encouraged you to do it... I would place the blame squarely at their feet."

"Hmph...," Link shot back, scrunching his face back up as he twitched his glower once in reply. "Zelda..."

"She is still alive..."

That surprised him.

Link found his straw-haired eyebrows shooting up in alarm as he listened intently, urging the Sheikah to go on.

"She leads the resistance movement against the Dreadlord Dragmire and all that he stands for," Sheik explained briefly, folding his bandaged arms as he did so. "All we've really been able to do is lead his forces away from neighbouring towns, interrupt his supply runs; things like that."

The listening young man huffed back at the Sheikah. "Sounds like a bad job to me."

Ignoring his sarcasm, Sheik continued by pressing forward a few steps in a slow march. "But now...," he began, eye narrowing at the blonde youth. "Now you have awoken!" He exclaimed in a light gasp, reaching forward with his right outstretched hand as if to be taken. "At last this country has a chance!"

Opting merely to stare back reservedly at the Sheikah standing before him, Link allowed his tense muscles to finally relax. With an echoing click he rose the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield to rest on his back.

"You are... hesitant...?" Sheik poked, his voice soft and doubtful.

"Put yourself in my boots...," Link shot back, narrowing his sky-blue eyes back at the Sheikah youth. "Not once... not even twice but three times I've been denied being able to go back home for this 'quest' of Zelda's," he explained very briefly, watching the young man carefully; sure enough, almost as if he were talking directly to him Sheik avoided his eyesight. "I don't suppose goin' back to the Kokiri Forest and hangin' the Master Sword up is an option, huh," he postulated half-sarcastically, raising a curious blonde eyebrow up as he did. Receiving merely stony silence from the Sheikah, he huffed in a derisive tut. "That's what I thought..."

"Whether you want it or not Link, you are the Hero of Time," the fiery-eyed blonde shot back, his tone shifting to one of bold confrontation. Link's scowl returned to him as he listened. "Without you... we don't have the means to even consider opposing Ganondorf's regime."

"There that is again..."

"There what is?"

Link's eyes narrowed angrily. "'Hero' of Time," he clarified. "What does it even mean?"

"Well it means that you're the-"

"I know what you and Rauru think it means," Link coldly interrupted, deep-azure eyes glaring. "But it sounds to me like you both need a pawn to help clean up your mistakes." He finished in a narrow-eyed hiss.

"She's using you."

The words of Kage Narumono, spoken to him those seven years previous, now at last had their weight in gold within him. Though he would have felt sheerly insane for even considering the words of his demonic second side, the entity that thrived on conflict, he finally found meaning and sense in him.

Although he was hateful he never lied; not once.

Not like Zelda or Kaepora, or any one of these people Link had known.

"We don't want to use you Link," Sheik attempted to reason, stepping forward from the pedestal's position. "Think of it this way...," he started, narrowing his one visible eye as he stopped just short of the first incline of steps. "Say we take back the Master Sword from you... we send you back home to the Kokiri Forest..."

Link's eyes narrowed in silent suspicion as he listened.

"What will you do there?" Sheik pressed, tilting his blonde head to the side as he watched the youth intently. "You think it's just been undisturbed all these years you've been sealed away...? Hm...?"

Clicking his tongue in disappointment as revelation set in, Link lowered his eyes in his scowl, realising that his home was probably a war-zone by this point.

Sheik was right and he knew it.

"I understand Link... I get it..."

His attention and curiosity piqued, Link re-rose his newly hardened frown to face the Sheikah stepping forth a few more paces.

"But this country is no longer a land of peace...," the young man explained with an emphatic shake of his head. "Right now Hyrule is very weak, especially to outside interference."

He means other countries, Link thought to himself in his studious frown. Catching his words however, the young man's eyes narrowed and he replied.

"Ganondorf's ruled for a full seven years and no other country's attacked...?"

"With an iron fist," Sheik reinforced with a hardened glare of his burning eye. "It's possibly the only thing good about his kingship...," the Sheikah youth muttered out, folding his arms. "So... what do you say Link? Will you help Zelda and I reclaim Hyrule's innocence?"

Turning his own blue-eyed frown away from his new companion's Link sighed through his nose as he shut his eyes in defeat.

–

2

"Thank you my good king!"

Bowing yet again, the brown-haired and fashionably dressed Ingo smiled so deeply it nearly tore his facial structure apart. Lowering his body so fiercely he appeared almost as if to be begging the intimidating persona before him.

Sitting atop a blackened, almost burned-like throne rested the hard-scowling Ganondorf. Footed in the back-centre of the huge lavish summit-room, the area was even filled with a glorious orange-y tint that made castle look like a beautiful sunset. Placed directly below the chair and all that resided in the throne room was the kind of velvet red carpet that only royalty would find. Standing next to the sat Ganondorf was a similarly-faced cloaked figure, seemingly his advisory. The watching king of Hyrule scrunched his face up with a light scowl as he bid the bowing Ingo away.

"Begone..." He intoned out; as if called forward by their master, growling pig-like monstrosities shambled forward.

Dressed in basic iron gear and both carrying steel lances they used their remaining free arms to grip at the gasping Ingo's own arm. Pulling the surprised Hylian up by his shoulders the two Moblins growled a second time to match the ranch-hand's horrified gasps. Disappearing into the bright sunset of the front of the summit, Ganondorf stared after them as he placed his right arm's elbow down on the throne's arm-rest. Cupping his hardened right cheek to his leaning fist he glared forward.

"Are you certain we can trust him my lord?" The cloaked man spoke softly in a narrow-eyed hiss. "The man looks like a snake..."

"He will be easily controlled...," Ganondorf shot back as he creased the frown he carried ever so slightly as if in thought. "And with a pawn holding fast that ranch of his I have one more source of income for this country."

Nodding along in agreement and understanding, Scaverin turn his frown forward.

"Seven years, Scaverin...," he began once more, his amber eyes glowering ahead. "Seven long years..."

"A bountiful rule, your majesty," the cloaked figure grinned at the fiery-haired warrior-king. "Just as you once said it would be."

"And yet..."

SLAM

The listening Scaverin flinched but only through his facial expression; he narrowed his eyes in the commanding direction of the small chasm the king created in his throne's arm-rest. Ganondorf's hateful grimace carried far as he stared directly ahead of him, seemingly at something in his thoughts.

"And yet still that wench eludes me...," the Gerudian king snarled, scrunching his face up as he spoke. "I should have killed her when she was still a brat..."

"Perhaps it won't matter... my lord," Scaverin at last spoke into the conversation as he leant his head a little closer. "Even in all this time the resistance's pockets of forces could never hope to-"

"Even so..." Ganondorf interrupted once more, pulling his arm from his chair and standing directly up from it to pace very slowly forward. The blood-red cape he wore so well hung upon his broad-shouldered back as he marched gradually toward the precipice of the small staircase leading to his throne. Stopping just short of it he glared forward as he rose up his superior right fisted palm, amber eyes narrowing.

SHIIING...

The high-pitched whine of divine Aegir bounced off the walls of the otherwise empty throne room of Ganon's Castle; proof of the godlike triangle that formed atop the back of his clenched fist shone brightly to join the already powerful light of the summit.

"To have lost the last two remaining pieces...," he referred to the sacred golden triangle within his hand. "Somehow... I know that she is behind it..."

Though he was unwilling to respond for fear of his leader himself, the listening Scaverin merely watched with a thoughtful frown upon his lips.

"Perhaps you are correct Scaverin... as you have been these past few years...," Ganondorf began once more, lowering his arm as he glared forward; the golden yellow of the Holy Triforce he wielded began to dim out as he did. "What would you say is the best course of action?" He asked this time, 'rounding his long-haired head to face his advisory behind him.

"Inaction, my lord."

Narrowing his eyes to match the half-curiousness of his scowl, Ganondorf studied the summoner's calm and cool expression for some form of meaning. Unable to find it he rose a flaming eyebrow upward.

"The rumours say that Daphnes' daughter leads the rebellion... yes?" Scaverin began, a low smile on his older face as he started to march forward to join his king. Ganondorf glared back but nodded regardless. "From what my intel has gathered... the resistance take faith in an old legend..."

"Hmph... I know the one..."

"Yes...," the smirking Scaverin nodded in acknowledgement. "Although she may have proven to be a shrewd politician indeed she cannot remain hidden forever..."

Ganondorf narrowed a single eye, part of his scowl upturning into a similar-faced smirk.

"For when she finds her hero fighting for her...," the cloaked schemer chuckled lowly, a toothy grin to his expression. "She will have no choice but to help him..."

With an identical chortle, Ganondorf shook his head at first as he briefly turned to face the front once more, erupting eventually into full-blown laughter.

"You really have thought of everything haven't you...?" The Gerudian king laughed in his direction. The listening necromancer merely smiled as he bowed in a sign of respect. "Well... I suppose it is why I pay you...," Hyrule's feared monarch grinned before turning once more to re-face the front. "Just as when we tore this land from its unworthy hands... so too will the remaining pieces of the Ultimate Power become mine," Ganondorf growled, his hard smirk soon morphing into a firm scowl. "Soon... this world... is mine."


	23. A Gamble to Race For

Chapter 23: A Gamble to Race For  
Liberation of the Country Plantation Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Uncharted Fates" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Morale Fades" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Scene 1 (First Half).

\--

Roused from a seven-year long sleep, Link and Navi awaken to a world of pure ruin and desolation. Greeted by a religiously dressed man by the name of 'Rauru', he informs the heroes of their destiny and even elucidates them on a horrifying premise.

That Link is only the fourth in a line of reincarnated heroes.

Near unable to believe having been both used by his country's princess and by the desert king Ganondorf, Link finds himself reeling in response to the horrifying news he is delivered with. When sent back to the Temple of Time he meets with the last known contact of the country's princess Zelda; a young man going by the name 'Sheik', of the Sheikah clan. Realising the breed of warriors he comes from Link discovers that he is a relative of the missing Impa, guardian of Zelda.

In asking the newly re-awakened Link and Navi for their assistance with their efforts in their rebellion of Ganondorf's monarch, Sheik hopes to eventually overturn the Gerudian king and his law of the land. Though reluctant to join in the knowledge of having been manipulated not once or twice but three times, Link at last agrees but only under the condition that his services are temporary. In hoping to clear his childhood home, the Kokiri Forest, of Ganondorf's threatening presence Link agrees to join forces with the hopeful alliance and heads out south.

Having won the large country of Hyrule in his successful coup seven years earlier with the assistance of his aide Scaverin, Ganondorf Dragmire now rules Hyrule with an iron fist. Though the country has seen peace from any outward source of war the signs of struggle are fierce from within; the civil war that has been borne as a result of the oppressive authority rages on for time without end.

Though confident in his intelligence and death-like grip on the country, Ganondorf decides to loosen his hold in an effort to reveal the one woman he has searched for seven long years... Daphnes' Nohansen Hyrule's only daughter.

The royal princess Zelda.

\--

Scene 1

"Place it on the table; thank you Aran." Sheik spoke over his shoulder, a smile in his casual and thankful tone. Nodding, the young Hylian boy similarly smiled as he put down the long scroll he was carrying. Leaning against one of the walls in the small house they resided in, Link watched from his shadowed corner with his brawny arms folded. Eyes narrowing over at the scroll on the table, the green-garbed youth ruminated on its possible information.

"I-If you need anything else Mr. Sheik p-please don't hesitate to ask!" The young Aran called over as he backed on out of the domicile to shut the door in front of him.

Left in the bathing orange illumination of the candlelight, Link and Sheik turned their eyes to face one another. Swivelling around from the occupied bed in the top-right corner of the small area, Sheik marched over to the table and gestured to the leaning Link to come closer. Sure enough, though he was still hesitant, the blonde youth unfolded his arms and stepped forward to join his new ally. Before Link could even open his mouth however the door knocked, surprising him; swerving his narrow-eyed frown over in the door's direction, he glared. Sheik laid a hand gently across his own perhaps in an attempt to calm the tension, unnerving him further.

"Come in!"

As if listening to the Sheikah's voice as Link had half-expected, the door to the small house re-opened for the second time since little Aran had left. Standing in his place was a tall narrow-eyed figure. Similarly broad-shouldered and built to the watching Link, this young man appeared to be weathered by combat; numerous scars evidently marred his otherwise agreeable complexion. Catching sight of the long and sharp axe-like blade of the halberd the young man carried, Link found himself glaring down at it suspiciously.

He's probably a friend of Sheik's, Link thought.

Calm down.

As the nameless youth stepped in Link got a look at the unruly staccato mess that was his ebony black-haired head; a common hairstyle, especially in days of war. Resting behind his hair however was a peculiar kind of headband, seemingly tied across his forehead. On his body he carried black-plate armour on his left shoulder, a pair of similarly-shaded gauntlets across his arms and a practical but weathered brown tunic and trousers. A long and scraggly grey cape rested across his shoulders as if to compliment the rest of his unfashionable appearance.

"Link, this is Raynard of the Van Garrick clan," Sheik introduced, a calming tone in his voice to compliment the placid harmony of the orange light that washed over the small house's insides. "Raynard... this is Link." The Sheikah finished, using his two free bandaged arms to gesture toward the two young men. Though the frowning Link outstretched his broad arm forward to be shaken in greeting, the watching Raynard turned his nose up at the blonde.

"Hmph...," the listening Raynard began, narrowing his eyes as he re-folded his arms stoically. "So... you are the Hero of Time...?"

"Charming..." Navi muttered from a safe distance, hiding on the watching Kokiri's shoulder. Link raised a curious straw-haired eyebrow up as he lowered his arm in response to the youth's hostility.

"Much younger than I thought...," the black-haired youth pondered on outwardly as he seemingly examined the green-garbed boy. "Sheik why are we wasting our time with him?" Raynard spat, turning his scowl on the red-eyed Sheikah next to him. "We don't need any outside help."

With an audible but soft-sounding sigh, Sheik set his frown behind the wide scarf he wore so well. "Yes we do Raynard," the Sheikah replied just as boldly, narrowing his one visible crimson eye as he set his right hand to rest on his right hip. "In seven years we haven't even been able to put a dent in Ganondorf's reign," the rebellion's co-founder reminded with a hardened tone to his normally feminine-like voice. The listening Raynard swept his eyes away from his leader's as if in silent defeat. "Besides... you know this is Zelda's wish."

"Tch..." Raynard rolled his eyes as he turned his head away from the group, clearly in disapproval.

Though he found himself inherently disliking the young Raynard, Link opted to keep his distrust and opinion to himself as he re-faced the frowning Sheik.

Not as if it matters, he thought.

I'm only fighting with them as far as Kokiri Forest and then they're on their own.

"All right..." Sheik started as he about-turned to eye the scroll on the table below him; reaching down with his left arm he flattened it out across the hardwood. Watching over the blonde Sheikah's shoulder, Link rose an eyebrow as he examined the scroll's contents; finding a map laid out with Hyrule's landmarks, he managed to recognise key areas he had been to.

Just as he had expected his home, the Kokiri Forest, had been highlighted with a spherical quill-pen, indicating it was their first destination.

"Our enemy's rule has extended even as far as your home Link," Sheik began in addressing his new ally as he swept his arms across the hardwood table beneath the three men. Furrowing his brow as he listened, Link nodded. "I've had scouts' intel tell me that the place is a mess," Sheik explained in a negative shake of his head. "Multiple units of Moblins have been sighted as deep as the Lost Woods."

Link found himself lowering his blue eyes in a worried frown, narrowing in thought.

"Saria..." He ruminated on silently, thinking of his missing green-haired companion.

He wondered how she was doing or even if she was still alive.

"How many men is that?" Raynard threw in from his folded-armed stance, frowning heavily as before. "Roughly?"

Turning to face the black-haired youth Sheik re-opened his mouth. "Hard to say but we estimate at least five."

"Good god..." Raynard hissed out in blaspheme, turning his eyes away as if in pure shock.

"It's... bad out there," Sheik agreed as he nodded, turning his head back to the front. "To go now would be sheer folly, so..."

"So... what?" Link pressed, curious as he raised up an eyebrow.

"We need to prepare," the Sheikah answered, his blonde head lowered to match his shut red eye. "And so..."

Almost as if triggered and cued by his words, both Sheik and Raynard swivelled their gazes toward the blinking Link.

Suddenly I feel worried, he thought.

"Ever hear of... Lon Lon Ranch?"

~

Slogging his brown boots across the once lush field of Hyrule, Link's brooding scowl remained ever constant on his facial expression. Opting to hover close-by, the similarly frowning Navi matched her charge's pace.

Having been explained that the resistance's resources are so lacking in that they need manpower and horses, Sheik sent the new Hero of Time in the ranch's direction. Although Link insisted he'd make the journey to his old childhood home on foot, extremely anxious to see his old friend Saria, he was unfortunately turned down.

"I guess it gives me a reason to go see Malon one last time..." The blonde youth thought to himself silently, his hardened glower eventually creasing into a softened frown. Memories of the flame haired mare tamer managed to calm his angered nerves, having been stressed eternally since his re-awakening a mere day ago.

"How are you feeling?"

Edging his sapphire-like eyes to his left he registered the soft voice as Navi.

"Yeah... fine," he answered, his hardened frown slowly returning to him, re-facing the front. Soon however, mid-march, his scowl twitched as he snorted. "As well as I can be I guess." The young man rectified with the matching derisive response. Though she was put off by his words, Navi soldiered on.

"I know you feel manipulated...," the little ball of light acknowledged, a saddened tone in her voice. The sardonic grin on his face told her all she needed to know. "But... maybe you're wrong Link."

Halting his march out of sheer shock, the youth about-turned to face his partner, eyes widened. "What...?" He hissed over incredulously.

"Well... put yourself in their shoes," the guardian fairy ventured as she hovered in front of the bewildered boy. "You know what kind of person Ganondorf is. They've had to deal with this for seven years...," she pointed out, her tone emphatic. Though Link listened, his anger began to bubble away once more; he turned his eyes away from hers, clenching his fist at his side. "It'd be enough to break anyone."

"I... I understand that, but..."

"Did you mean what you said to Sheik?"

Turning his eyes back up to face her, Link initially blinked back before furrowing his brow in recognition. "You mean... about only helping until we free Kokiri Forest?"

She nodded.

"Yeah." Link shot back, a similar gesture to register his confirmation.

"Link it's not a question of if anymore like when we were after the Spiritual Stones...," Navi began once more as she slowly hovered forward. "Things are really bad now."

"I know."

"Slavery... death..."

"I know Navi."

"For all we know Saria, Mido and everyone at the forest is-"

"NAVI!"

Stopped in her tracks, the cerulean sphere of light gasped so quietly it was nearly inaudible; she caught the tortured look in her partner's eye as he recovered from his calling.

"I get it...," he muttered out. "But I'm only one man," the green-clothed boy reminded her as he swept his head to his left. "And you remember how strong he was..."

Silent in her response, Navi lowered her eyes; a telling show of disappointment.

"Even if I wanted to...," Link began again, shaking his head as he furrowed his brow down at the deep emerald of Hyrule Field beneath him. "I wouldn't have the ability."

–

2

Half-expecting to be greeted by Malon as he entered the walls of Lon Lon Ranch, Link swept his right arm across his eyes to block the glaring sun as it set over the horizon.

It had taken almost all day just to get this far, he thought.

Shame Sheik and his entourage couldn't join me.

"Hi! Welcome to the ran-?"

Surprised by the soft voice's interruption, Link swerved his straw-haired head to the stable barn he remembered in search of its source. Unfortunately however due to the sun's glare he could not make the form out.

"F-Fairy boy...?"

Suddenly he knew who it was; he couldn't help the smile growing on his face as he recognised the voice's owner.

"Fairy boy!"

With the sound of a small bucket dropping water to the green field beneath them, the listening Malon suddenly erupted into a padding run presumably for him.

CRASH

Gasping with a laugh, Link found himself in a sudden smashing embrace with the flame-haired maiden. Surprised he vaguely noted their new height difference; his head now just barely overtook hers. She also wore a much more complimenting purple-shaded dress; resting across her lower half was a brown pullover with some ancient Hylian letters visible atop it. The simple brown boots she wore complimented well with the short but practical white blouse she wore. Though Link half-expected to find the dragon-like amulet she used to wear he remembered that she had given him it seven years previous.

It hung across his neck as proof of their friendship.

Noticing it, Malon pulled back from her cradling to smile back at him.

"I knew you'd come back to me," she whispered out, her tone as soft and silky as the feel of her hands across his hips. Feeling her touch a little more familiar than he'd have liked, he chuckled nervously as he turned his red-shaded cheeks away from her. "I missed you... these long seven years."

Re-facing her with a smile of his own, Link nodded. "I missed you too...," he replied. "Zora's Domain... wasn't it?"

Malon, similarly in a cheerful tone, nodded also. "Yeah," she answered. "You said you'd take me back to the Kokiri Forest... remember?" She asked him, turning a side of her grin up at him as she did so. Link chuckled a second time, lowering his sky-blue eyes once more in embarrassment.

"I remember..." He laughed good-heartedly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his free left arm.

"That may happen sooner than you think."

"Navi!" Malon grinned in the guardian fairy's talking direction; nodding back in greeting, the little blue ball of light flitted briefly above her charge's left shoulder. "It's so good to see you both," the ranch-hand claimed, a warm smile returning to her face as she ran her likewise balmy gaze across Link's person, leaning herself to the side as she gripped his hips close. "Especially after... daddy..." She trailed her sentence off, avoiding his eyesight with her own by lowering them; her newly saddened frown reformed on her face and Link had to blink in initial confusion.

Soon his mind caught up however when he recalled finding the sleeping and gloomily depressed Talon resting in Kakariko Village.

"Who is that?!"

The voice, so sharp and taxing on the nerves, managed to make the listening Malon jerk her hands away from the gasping Link's body. Surprised, he swept his cerulean-shaded gaze horizontally to find another familiar figure standing in the doorway to the ranch-house. Though he was dressed in far more luxurious wear than Link remembered, it was him.

Ingo of Lon Lon Ranch.

Standing dressed in what appeared to be a crimson-shaded torso piece; a pair of blue and white arm sides lay decorated in a criss-cross pattern on his two top limbs. Resting below on his legs were similar white breeches to the ones Link himself wore. The emerald-green shoes he was clothed in went well with the odd white scarf around his neck.

"What the hell is Ingo dressed in...?" Link whispered, narrowing his right eye at the bushy-moustached man not far from their position. "It looks-"

"I know, I know but sh!"

Hissed to remain quiet Link opted to do just that as he reset his hands to his sides; Malon brushed her indigo dress off as she turned her body to face the marching Ingo, standing side-by-side with the curious-faced Link.

"Who in the...?" Ingo began, frowning heavily as he narrowed his eyes in his forward march. Seemingly examining the similar-faced Link, the new ranch owner widened his eyes as he finally recognised the youth. "Ah!" He exclaimed, his thick dark-brown eyebrows raising up as he did. "I remember you... Link was it?"

"Good memory," the listening Kokiri had to compliment, a grin on his face as he outstretched his right arm forward. This time he was obliged; the nodding Ingo reached ahead to grab his fingers within his own in a firm handshake. "Yeah... nice to see you again Ingo."

"I remember you when you were just a boy," the man grinned back as he retracted his hand to rest behind his back. "A man remembers those that truly work."

Though Link smiled back in good sociability he couldn't help but notice the hardened frown on the listening Malon. Seemingly also taking note of her, Ingo swerved his hard-eyed glare on her.

"Did you finish feeding the animals?" He questioned her with a cold-hearted glower to his tone.

"Yes, Ingo," Malon shot back, glaring similarly in response. "I wouldn't forget to do that no matter how many times you ask."

"Hmph... we'll see...," Ingo muttered lowly as he eyed the farm girl carefully before soon sweeping his eyes over to the blonde youth before him. "So... what brings you to this abode?"

"A... few things," Link answered, his eyes on his close companion next to him temporarily before soon re-facing the man ahead. "Can we discuss this inside?"

Ingo allowed a smile to crease his older features, his hands still resting behind his back. "I don't see why not."

~

"Ahh... so you and Sheik hope to do business hm...?" Ingo ventured forth from his seat across the table they sat at, his hands joined together and elbows resting on the hardwood. Sitting far crosswise to the older ranch-hand was the frowning Link, his hands resting comfortably by his sides. "No matter how much you offer boy I am not willing to part with one of my ranch's horses," he shot back, turning his moustache up at the Kokiri, as if in disinclination. "Lon Lon Ranch is fully committed to our great lord Ganondorf!"

Link's eyes narrowed in response and recognition.

Had Ganondorf's rule extended even as far as this place?

Seven years, he reminded himself a second time.

Even Talon isn't running things anymore... which means doing this will be difficult.

Especially if Ingo has allied the farm with Ganondorf, he thought worriedly.

"Please, we're not asking for much," Link pressed, frowning as he rose up his two hands to gesture forward on the table he once ate with. "We just need one horse; can't you make an exception just this once?"

"Hmph... do you really think there is room to wiggle in this new regime?" Ingo growled back, re-raising his head to look down on the blonde youth. "I thought you'd be smarter than that my boy..." He finished with a chuckle, tilting his head to the side in a display of his derisive amusement. Link's listening frown twitched in growing anger; he held himself back from spitting back his venom-filled tone for sheer worry of being pushed back even further from his long-term goal.

It's setback after setback, he thought. The more time I spend on this the higher chance Sheik will ask me to stay with them.

And that's the last thing I want to do.

"U-Um... master Ingo..."

His attention called, the hard-frowning ranch-hand spun his disapproving scowl on the flame-haired Malon standing ever present behind him, her coarse fingers threaded together. "What...?" The bushy-moustached man muttered incredulously in her direction, as if shocked by her intrusion into the conversation. "What's wrong? Something happen with the animals?"

"N-No...," Malon stammered back in response, shaking her head dismissively. "I mean... I know of a solution for you both so that everyone wins."

Surprised by her helpful insight and commentary even the listening Link looked up from his earlier deep thought to take heed.

"Go on..." Ingo pressed, narrowing his beady little eyes at the fair maiden, scrutinising her with his threaded-fingered stare.

"You remember... Epona... don't you?" She asked, frowning back at the older man; with a very quick glance she gifted Link with a swift wink, one that not even Navi would have been able to catch. Link watched her studiously, the cogs in his brain working intensely to find a method to her madness.

What are you doing, he thought.

Ingo snorted, swivelling his brown-haired head from hers. "A useless mare," he grunted miserably. "For a horse with such potential to be so unruly... such a pity," the man admitted, shaking his head once more. "I would have saw fit to entrust her to the great lord Ganondorf; curry our ranch some favour."

Perhaps thankful for the horse's wild nature, Malon continued. "Given she belongs to me... I was thinking of gifting her to Link."

"What?!" Ingo screeched angrily, swerving his scowl back on the young woman. Similarly shocked, Link rounded his bewildered frown on her, unable to find the words to speak to her with.

"Malon!" Navi's sudden call made the listening pair of ranchers swivel 'round briefly before re-facing one another.

"What's wrong?" The listening young woman frowned back nonchalantly, her hands still joined at her midriff. "Hasn't Epona always belonged to me?"

Though Link was unsure on the history of the people he once broke bread with, the look in Ingo's tortured scowl told him all he needed to know.

Malon was right and he knew it.

"You can't be serious...," he growled back at her, lowering his hands to rest his elbow on the table as he glared up. "We have this group over a barrel and you want to gift them what they want...?"

"Epona is mine to do with what I please isn't she?" The farm girl clarified once again, shrugging her slim shoulders back at the man as calmly as she had done before. Link couldn't help but grow a very small smirk upon his face as he listened intently.

"Very well...," Ingo at least let go of, grimacing with defeat as he turned to re-face his customer. "If you can tame her...," he added this time with a knowing smirk. "You may be gifted with Epona."

"Are you a betting man... Ingo?"

His curiosity piqued one step further, the listening man's moustache twitched in reply before a bushy eyebrow shot up slowly.

"Perhaps...," he carefully sidled into the conversation with. "What are your thoughts boy?"

"I'm thinking...," Link began, his blonde head held lowly before he very gradually rose it back up to face the man, a confident grin on his facial expression. "That Epona and I could beat you in a race."

Silence.

And then, suddenly, Ingo's boisterous laugh echoed noisily across the ranch-house's walls to match the sound of the wood being slammed; a full display of the man's hilarity.

"Did you take some mushrooms out there in the field son?!" Ingo laughed insultingly, barely able to take the Kokiri seriously. Undeterred, Link's eerily confident smirk remained as constant as the air between them.

"If Epona and I win... you forfeit ownership of Lon Lon Ranch." He offered onto the hardwood table before him. Perhaps cowed by the young man's words Ingo's laughing almost immediately subsided and, as it did, the low angry scowl he was known for returned to his expression.

"And if you lose...?" He pressed in a whisper, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

Link leant his head to the side in his bold and sly smirk. "Then I'll join your workforce... this time for good."

Malon, horrified, stared over at the exchange unable to do anything to stop the men from their discussion.

Another round of silence pervaded the air between the group before, finally, Ingo regained his own smirk and stared back at the youth.

"We have an accord."

–

3

"What the hell was that?!" Malon shot out with for what felt like the umpteenth time since they left the ranch-house. Pacing up and down the barn-house she had her slim arms folded in a show of her anger with the similar-standing Link. Leaning against the taut ladder laying behind him, the smiling Link folded his arms in a corner of the house. "You have no idea how to ride, this is the first time you and Epona have even considered doing this by the way," the farm girl shot over rapidly, narrowing her eyes briefly at him before continuing. "It's crazy!" She finished with a swift and angry spin of her head; beautiful sparks of red filled the air as she did.

Link couldn't help but laugh very quietly to himself through his nose as he watched and listened. Growing exasperated with the responses she was receiving, Malon narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she glared back at him.

"Oh I'm sorry; have we left planet earth?" She asked him sarcastically, scowling back at him as she threaded her arms together. "What's so funny?"

With a charming smile still upon his lips, Link shook his head as if to dispel the farm girl's worries before pushing himself off of the ladder he leant on. Pressing forward he managed to draw a curious raised eyebrow from the quiet and listening Malon.

"What are you...?" She began, an unsure frown etched across her expression. She searched for some kind of reasoning behind his actions hidden amongst the odd look in his smiling eye; as he leaned forward she chose not to lean back or away from him.

Sure enough, just as within the Zora's Domain seven years previous, the two shared a very soft and delicate kiss with one another. Resting his hands directly on the young woman's lower hips to hold her close, Link pulled back still with the boyish smile he wore so well plastered to his face. Perhaps disappointed by the brief nature of their closeness, Malon found herself leaning further forward and re-opening her eyes in a frown, as if caught within a dream.

"U-Um...," she began with a gulping frown adorned to her face. "G-Good point...," she managed out, lowering her eyesight from his with a visible red shade of embarrassment to her cheeks. Link couldn't help but grin back as he listened. "But I think you might still need practice."

The listening Kokiri pulled his green-hatted head back to laugh good-naturedly, almost as if he was waiting for her to say those words.

It was all Malon could do but gain a slow-growing grin of her own in response.

~

"Now... let's see if Epona recognises you fairy boy." The smiling Malon began softly as she stepped similarly smoothly across the lush green field of Lon Lon Ranch's large pen.

Ever close-by, Link stopped just as his partner did, placing a thoughtful hand by his hip. As if sensing the pair, the fiery-looking Epona double-took in their direction before swiftly jogging off away presumably to safety. Malon sighed in light defeat as she tilted her head ever so slightly, a sad smile to her face.

"Sorry fairy boy but it doesn't look as if-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the faint sound of an instrument filled the air around her; surprised, Malon swivelled 'round to find the shut-eyed Link with an ocarina in his two-handed grip. Gently rocking from side to side as if to generate some kind of rhythm the blonde youth commenced the notes to the melody that Malon had once taught him in his last escapade. Genuinely shocked Malon could do little but stare at her close companion with widened aqua-blue eyes. As if by sheer magic itself, the sound of hooves fast-approaching them made her snap her head in Epona's jogging direction.

Sure enough, he managed to overcome the barriers that Malon had been so confident in of his failure; realising he had remembered the very melody taught within the confines of her family, Malon shot the smiling Link a knowing smirk as she watched him cup Epona's face affectionately.

"That's impressive," the fire-haired girl grinned in complimenting, finding herself folding her arms back at him. "Most people can barely replicate that on harp let alone an ocarina."

"It's not as difficult as it used to be," Link shot back in his own little knowing grin. "With practice... I think you can do anything."

"Won't get an argument from me," Malon replied as she leant her fiery-haired head to the side. "Aptly put!"

Knowing in what she was referring to, Link nodded as he turned once more to face the taller Epona. Rubbing his hand across her back as a gesture of good faith the loyal mare snorted appreciatively. Link put on an excited light grin as he narrowed his eyes and re-opened his mouth to speak.

"I guess there's a first time for everything... huh Epona?"

–

4

"I hope you're ready to lose boy."

Called to attention the frowning Link swerved his head 'round to face the slow-marching Ingo, heading toward his position. Though he sat atop Epona with all the basic gear he had received from Malon, Ingo appeared to be decked out in some luxurious riding gear of his own.

Certainly the odds are stacked, the young Kokiri thought to himself cheekily.

"I think we might just surprise you," Link shot back as he drew a small grin atop his complexion. "We been practicing."

"Oh is that right...?" Ingo asked, his tone sarcastic and mocking; with the derisive turn of his head he eventually managed to pull himself up on the similarly sized horse of his own, grunting as he did so. Briefly swivelling his brown-haired head to face his younger opponent he gave the watching Link a withering glance. "It's going to take more than just sheer practice to beat me." He warned in a hardened narrow of his eyes.

"We'll see..." The listening Link thought to himself, staring directly back at the glaring Ingo.

"Racers ready?"

His attention pulled a second time and this time by Malon, Link shot his frown downwards to find her standing offside of the course, frowning up at them both.

"Yes you idiot girl; now give the call!" The ranch-hand angrily shouted back down at her. As always Malon let his comments go; in spite of the growing anger Link found himself with, he opted not to respond.

Raising her left hand to reveal a small green flag she opened her mouth to signal the beginning of the competition and indeed the bet itself.

"Go!"

~

With a single soft kick to Epona's sides Link and his mare were off and running; plastered a grin on his face he found himself far exceeding his opponent's pace. Noticing it almost immediately, Ingo's eyes widened and he yelled out multiple obscenities as he slapped his riding crop into the poor horse's rear as if to spur it on.

Renting the air with an echoing neigh the dark-brown stallion began to speed up and, as it did, its passenger raised up his free left arm into the air; adding a war-cry like scream to his horse's sprint, Ingo sounded every bit the madman.

Fingering Epona's reins carefully, Link managed to turn the fiery mount like a professional; though he was sleep-deprived at having been up all night, his practice with the once wild horse had at last paid off. Swiftly swivelling 'round the corner into the back of Lon Lon Ranch and the horse's pen, the pair of heroes found themselves easily overtaking Ingo.

"This is incredible!" Navi called from within the grinning Link's long green cap. Raising a straw-haired eyebrow, Link listened further as he briefly turned his eye in her direction close-by. "I can't believe you did this!"

"They did this," he corrected her, his tone surprisingly calm as he re-faced the front. Narrowing his eyes at the final four turns of the race, he widened his confident smirk. Nipping at his heels was the screaming Ingo; desperate in his attempt to prevent his younger opponent from winning the bet. "Malon and Epona!" The Hero of Time exclaimed in a display of sheer excitement as he pressed his partner one final push. Gasping as he watched his adversary 'round the last corner and pass the white chalked line, Ingo's eyes remained fixated and widened as if horrified.

Pulling the reins back but only for confirmation of their victory, Link grinned widely as Epona neighed in effort as she pulled her hooves up before eventually crashing back down to the grassy ground beneath them.

–

5

"Amazing!"

Catching Malon's words, Link turned his smile to his left as he stepped slowly off of Epona's saddle. Barely with enough time to react he couldn't help but laugh as she crashed into him with a similarly chuckling hug, wrapping her arms 'round his neck and broad-shouldered back.

"I'm so proud of you!" She smiled brightly, washing her joy over him. Re-turning her smile on the recovering Epona however she nodded over at her. "Both of you."

"Hey if anything it was all you," Link batted her compliment back with an upward nod of his own head, resting his hands softly upon her hips. "I would have easily crashed and burned and you know it." He challenged her with a narrow of his right eye, mischievous but well-meaning. With a similarly impish grin on her face, Malon hung her her slim arms around the youth's neck as she slowly leaned forward.

"Yeah...," she answered, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right. "Maybe..." The flame-haired girl grinned on as she found herself very slowly and carefully hovering toward him. Realising her intent, Link's eyebrows lifted in recognition before he began to grow a red-shade of embarrassment to his cheeks.

"Impossible!"

Catching the sound of the interruption, Link and Malon almost instinctively let one another go as they turned in the direction of the noise; sure enough, as he pulled himself off of the brown horse he had used in their race, Ingo marched toward them in an angry growl.

"You must have set this up!" He shouted emphatically as he pointed accusingly at the frowning Malon. "There's no other explanation!"

"I helped Link if that's what you mean," Malon opted to respond with in her business-like frown. "Things were pretty bad for him after-"

"How dare you!" Ingo exclaimed, his face positively full of the crimson-shaded rage he wore so well. As he began his approach he rose up his right back-hand, presumably to strike her with. Narrowing his eyes with light effort Link intercepted the assault by raising up his right hand to catch Ingo's. Surprised, the ranch-hand's eyes widened as his arm was halted in mid-air. "What the-?" He began, purely unable to believe it. Link glared back wordlessly at the surprised-expressed ranch owner before Ingo soon regained his rage to match the words that came out. "Let go of me you mindless ur-!"

In spite of his passion-filled insult, Ingo soon found his words tripping over themselves; his eyes widened once more as he gasped. Now, presumably in pain, the older man drew in his breath sharply; seemingly finding his strength failing him, he dropped very quickly to one knee, using his other free hand to claw at his opponent's own arm gripping his. Narrowing his oceanic eyes down at the man beneath him, Link's hardened scowl made even the watching Navi disquieted with concern and unease.

"Link... Link it's okay..." Malon attempted to soothe her companion from behind.

Though she placed a hand softly on his right shoulder, the sudden abrupt turning glare she received made her suddenly wrench her hand away, the folds on her face creasing as if in fear. Suddenly realising the look on her face, Link furrowed his brow at her before turning back to face the whimpering Ingo in his pained and wriggling grip. At last in comprehension of himself and his actions, Link abruptly let go of the gasping Ingo, allowing him to drop to the grassy ground and crawl away in fear.

Realising in horror that he only had himself to blame for that small fit of rage and he couldn't just point the finger at Kage Narumono a second time, Link stared down at the open palm of his right hand, lightly twitching in dread. Curling his fingers very slowly into a fist he briefly shut his aquatic eyes and attempted to relocate his cheer from earlier.

I can't let Sheik find out about this, he thought.

With that fear-driven rumination, he about-turned to frown sadly at the watching and silent Malon, ready to explain himself.


	24. Homecoming

Chapter 24: Homecoming  
Purifying the Deep Coppice Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Neutiquam Erro" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Sacred Grove" - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST. Scene 2 (First Half).

\--

With the addition of the re-awakened Link to their forces, the small band of heroes that operate as a liberation force for the conquered Hyrule have their morale raised exponentially. Having worked under cover of night and darkness for seven long years, at last they reveal themselves to the desperate public of their country. In gifting them the knowledge of the hiding princess Zelda's safety and, now, the appearance of her 'Hero of Time', the people of Hyrule finally begin to learn what it means to hope again.

Although he meets with Sheik after his rousing from a seven year sleep, Link's affinity for the rebellion and its people is non-existent; having promised the Sheikah that he is committed only to fighting with them as far as his old childhood home, the Kokiri Forest, he dashes all hopes of ending the tyranny of king Ganondorf's grip over Hyrule. In spite of this however, the young Kokiri agrees to assist the troubles of Lon Lon Ranch; in forcing the new ranch's leader, Ingo, into a hastily made wager, he manages to free it of Ganondorf's rule. With the knowledge of his saved farm, Talon gives many thanks to the hero in green.

Now armed with supplies gifted by Lon Lon Ranch Link and Raynard, led by Sheik, make their way directly south. Passing through the beautiful fields of Hyrule and into the treacherous oddities of the forest, Link hopes blindly for more than just wasted lives and fallen friends but he soon learns...

… in the darkened reign of the Dreadlord Dragmire... none are safe...

\--

Scene 1

"Ditch the horses."

With the hardened tone of the similarly baritone voice ahead of him, Link furrowed his brow at it only to find the young Raynard stepping off of his steed. Although he found himself intensely disliking the brash youth that he met with Sheik earlier in Kakariko, he agreed to work with him under the impression that it wouldn't be for long.

For indeed, once he had cleared his childhood home of Ganondorf's threatening grip he was as gone as the wind.

Sneaking across the once long and open Hyrule Field, Raynard narrowed his eyes as he kept his form low. Raising a curious eyebrow as he watched Link merely followed behind nonchalantly, an unsure frown on his face.

"Raynard... we're going to Kokiri Forest," he reminded the youth before him, tilting his head ever so lightly as he did so. Snapping his black-haired head 'round to face the blonde, Raynard shot him with an annoyed glare. "Not Hyrule Castletown."

"Get down you idiot!" The mercenary hissed urgently. "You're disobeying a direct order from Sheik!"

Rolling his eyes Link opted to concede regardless; he lowered his tunic-wearing back and frowned forward as the pair slowly advanced into the Lost Woods' bridge.

I feel stupid, he thought.

Almost as if sensing his very fears however, as they passed through the trunk of wood, the trio of heroes found their paths met with with the leaning form of their leader. The blonde Sheik lay his sleek body against the bridge's support beam, his bandaged arms folded as he lay his red-eyed gaze upon them. Re-raising himself to face the Sheikah, Link frowned back as Sheik similarly leaned off of the bridge and walked over to join them.

"Good; you both made it," he greeted as he glided toward them, barely making a sound with his light form. "How were things getting here?"

Though Link opened his mouth to respond, his partner seemingly cut in before he could. "Without incident," Raynard replied, a hard-eyed glare to match his firm look. "Place is dead out there."

"Much as our scouts tell us...," Sheik sighed lowly, emphasising his disappointment with a brief shake of his head before about-turning and nodding forward; a quiet gesture to be followed. "I'm afraid things are much worse than we hoped for..."

"What do you mean?" Link questioned suspiciously behind the blonde Sheikah, furrowing his brow a second time. As they passed through the next wooden trunk however and back into Kokiri Forest did Sheik finally elaborate.

"That's what I mean."

Double-taking in the Sheikah's intended direction, Link's oceanic eyes widened in pure shock and horror; before the group of four stood an incredible sight indeed. A huge plant-like creature growled intensely back at them and one that looked rather familiar absolutely; an absurdly large form of the Deku Baba, a hostile plant class fiend.

"What the hell...?!" Raynard hissed out, glaring over at the growling flower-like creature. Reaching for his massive halberd, he held it with both hands and pointed the axe's blade threateningly.

"Navi... is it...?"

"Yes...," Link's nodding fairy companion confirmed for him, ever close-by. "It's definitely a Deku Baba."

"Why is it so huge?!" Raynard seethed, his amber eyes never leaving the hostile form before him.

"We think that Ganondorf is behind this," Sheik answered for him, leaning his blonde head diagonally as he narrowed his one visible eye at the lunging Deku Baba. "When he overthrew Daphnes at Hyrule Castle he gained access to the holy temples across the country."

"I see...," the listening Raynard sighed as he stood back up straight, a safe distance away from the growling Deku Baba. Spinning the halberd he brandished as he did so he continued. "He's infected the temples then huh?"

Nodding, Sheik frowned heavily behind his turban and scarf. "Precisely," he answered, his tone grave. Listening quietly Link stepped forward, lightly surprising the pair of men. "Link what are you-?"

SCHWING-SLICE-SCREECH

With an effortless horizontal swing of the mighty Master Sword, Link glared back at the screaming plant; in that single savage swipe, the poor Deku Baba found itself retreating rapidly back into the grassy ground beneath itself. Spitting up three small Deku Nuts in response to its defeat as opposed to the regular single, Link frowned as he set the Master Sword and Hylian Shield on his back before reaching down to paw at them.

"You should be more careful," Raynard warned with an emphatic narrow of his tan-like eyes. "If you can't be objective you shouldn't be he-"

"This is my home."

Having interrupted the surprise-expressed mercenary, the listening Raynard found himself gasping very quietly to himself. Narrowing his eyes forward, he listened dutifully and respectfully further as the firm-frowning Link re-raised himself to his feet. Tossing one of the Deku Nuts he gained from the fallen Deku Baba into the air, he re-caught it with the same hand he used to toss it with before raising it up to coincide with the moon's silvery rays. His aquatic eyes narrowed up at it he glared.

"Being objective is gonna be very difficult," the re-awakened Hero of Time claimed boldly before at last lowering the Deku Nut in a frown. About-turning to face the two men behind him, he eyed the folded-armed Sheik. "Right?" He asked, almost as if for confirmation. Raising an ebony eyebrow, Raynard swivelled his head 'round to stare back at his leader.

Sure enough, Sheik sighed quietly to himself as he lowered his head, his eye shut.

A silent sign of agreement.

Satisfied, Link belted the Deku Nut he carried before turning 'round to continue his march through his invaded home.

~

"Sheik warned you Link." Navi reminded him for what felt like the umpteenth time; as he paced 'round about the empty and vacant house he recognised and knew for so long.

The white carpet he remembered lay in its normal spot; dead centre in the middle of the living area. The cooker he used to burn things on when his companion was sick lay in the right-hand corner of the same place he always remembered, along with the seating area next to it. And, as always, her bed lay just ahead. With a saddened frown, Link stared down at it in his new tall height, barely unable to fit inside the small house.

"I know...," the youth murmured out, a melancholic attribute to his tone of voice. "I only wish I was here when she was..."

Knowing he was referring to Saria, Navi chose to remain silent as if to offer her adventuring partner privacy and room to breathe. Stepping forward Link stood toward the west end of the living area, casting his adult-like shadow over the bed he once slept in when he was sick in his childhood. Reaching down he grasped at the quilt cover and briefly shut his eyes, the feeling of the fabric nostalgic to him. Re-opening his oceanic eyes, the older Kokiri about-turned and stepped over toward the exit. Standing in the doorway to hang his blonde head over his shoulder only briefly, he stared longingly before at last taking his hand off the door-frame and leaving.

–

2

"How the hell do you know where you're going?"

Briefly turning to register his temporary companion's complaint, Link shot the growling Raynard an annoyed frown of his own as he followed obediently behind him.

"He grew up in this place," Sheik advised as he trailed alongside the black-haired mercenary. "Isn't that right?" He asked, almost as if for confirmation.

Though the darkened green backdrop of the Lost Woods they explored through was vibrant enough it was also far too similar to one another. If it wasn't for the well-kept memory that Link had carried all throughout his childhood, the foursome of heroes would have ended up easily lost forever. Frowning business-like as he 'rounded yet another similar-looking trunk of wood, Link turned his gaze upon the first sight that made him realise they were on due course.

A single pool of water with a building of white marble stone; a classic spot from his childhood where he and Saria used to spend countless hours playing together.

Casting a light saddened smile over at it, he wrenched his eyesight away from it before double-taking when he caught a surprising sight indeed.

The folded-armed, scowling Mido stood to block his, and his companions', paths.

"Mido..." He mouthed out, his brow furrowed and his eyes eyes widened in a mixture of shock and realisation.

Although he knew from his exchange with Rauru back in the Temple of Time that he had, without explanation, grown up he still had not had it sink in; not truly.

Not until now.

Upon witnessing his towering size over the once intimidating childhood bully he had spent years running from, Link at last made the realisation of his new age.

I still can't believe it, he thought.

"Yeah... that's my name," the young Kokiri began in his hard-eyed glare; raising an auburn eyebrow upward in curiosity, he pressed the older young man before him. "How do you know it?"

"I-"

"And why are you wearing Kokiri clothing?" His childhood bully pressed him further with a suspicious narrow of his eyes. Realising he was referring to his green-garbed tunic, Link found his hands softly resting on the torso of it, a wistful frown to his expression. "You don't fool me mister!" Mido insisted, unfolding his arms to thrust an accusing finger forward at the youth before him. "There's no way I'll let any of you through!" He boldly called forth with an emphatic horizontal wave of his left hand. Link couldn't help but smile as he watched; a mixture of nostalgia and pensive longing washing over him to match the familiarity of Mido's personality.

"We don't have time for this Sheik...," Raynard grunted over his shoulder, placing his right muscled arm across his right hip, amber eyes narrowed. "Can't we just...?"

Shaking his blonde-haired head, the Sheikah leader was disinclined to agreement. "No; I refuse to resort to the same measures our enemy uses to advance our negotiations."

Rolling his eyes in what seemed to be frustration, the listening mercenary turned back to face the seemingly hopeless situation they were confronted with.

"You should all get out of here," Mido informed the group of men, frowning firmly as his purple guardian fairy flew 'round his head, ever loyal. "These woods... they ain't safe these days. And if you don't have a fairy and get lost..." He began again in a warning tone however, with widened eyes, the young boy double-took in Link's direction to his left. Seemingly surprised he re-faced the tall blonde swordsman and darted his eyes at the blue ball of light hovering in the air. Realising he was staring at Navi, Link's eyebrows rose in worry.

He can't know who I am, he thought.

"W-Why...?" Mido whispered out, as if unable to believe what he saw. Perhaps sensing his silent suspicions, the flying form of Navi flitted over to hide behind the tall figure that was Link. "Does he have a guardian... fairy...?" The self-elected Kokiri leader managed out disbelievingly.

"It's not who you think it is."

Still in his horrified state, Mido swerved his wide-eyed and open-mouthed frown on the source of the interruption; the hard-eyed Sheik. Shaking his head a second time Sheik continued.

"That man is not Link," the Sheikah insisted, a serious tone in his words. "I promise you."

Perhaps doubting him, Mido narrowed his eyes briefly before slowly re-facing the youth once more. "But he looks... so much..."

"Like him; I know," Link laughed nervously, raising his right hand to rub the back of his head. "I get told that a lot."

Re-affixing a switch to his expression, the listening Mido changed to a half-suspicious and thoughtful crease. "So what is your name then? And how do you know Link?"

Gulping down the saliva that anxiously spawned around his inner mouth, Link briefly eyed the witnessing Sheik, as if for answers before turning back to face his childhood bully.

"Malek."

Surprising even himself with how quickly he came out with the name, Link spoke as if recalling a distant memory.

In actuality, the name did come from memory.

An old book of adventures that Saria had once told to him.

"Malek... huh?" Mido repeated with a dubious raise of his auburn eyebrow. Seemingly swallowing the information he was given however, the Kokiri folded his arms once more as he faced the adult. "So you know Link then?"

Realising he was asking him, the listening Link chuckled lightly as he nodded. "Y-Yeah I know him I think... kid about your size?" He asked as if for confirmation. "Wooden shield?"

"Yeah...," Mido breathed as he nodded, a frown on his face. "How... how is he...?"

"He's...," Link began, unsure initially as he swerved his eyesight in his well-to-do smile. "Doing... well," he finished in a light smile. "He's living in Hyrule Castle now."

Surprised by his comments, the frowning Raynard and eye-narrowing Sheik swivelled their curious expressions on him. Similarly inquisitive, the listening Navi watched the exchange from behind her charge. Mido's auburn eyebrows rose up in recognition, as if surprised. Link soldiered on; emboldened by his own words.

"He's still trying to help princess Zelda in protecting the Triforce," he claimed, a kind of disheartened smile on his face. Listening intently and with a similarly melancholic quality behind his crimson eye, Sheik watched him silently. "Sheik, Navi, Raynard and I, we're...," the older Kokiri began again, briefly sweeping his eyes in his temporary companions' directions before re-facing the wide-eyed Mido's. "We're all working together with Link and Zelda," he illustrated and, with the briefest of smiles, the adult Kokiri eyed the watching pair of men to their sides. Tracing his temporary peering, Mido flitted his frown across the frowning Raynard and the indecipherable expression on Sheik's face. "We're hoping to break Ganondorf's hold on the Kokiri Forest by getting through to the Forest Temple." Link clarified in his sociable smile as he faced the surprised boy below him.

"Ah...," Mido murmured out, briefly lowering his similarly blue eyes as if in thought. "How...," he began lightly, seemingly almost hesitant, before he eventually re-faced the blonde adult before him. "How... how is he?" He ventured to ask, an unsure frown dotted around his similarly tentative complexion. "Link I mean."

Realising he was referencing him directly, Link at first smiled in recognition before re-eyeing his old clansman to respond. "He's... he's good," the youth claimed in his smile. Though silently curious, the watching Sheik and Navi listened to him speak, intrigued. "He misses you," he claimed; almost as if affected by his words, the heeding Mido's oceanic eyes widened in surprise, positively shaken. "He misses everyone in the forest."

"Is...," the quiet-toned Mido began, lowering his head as he ran his left forearm across his nose, sniffling. "Is that... so..."

Giving the young Kokiri some room, Link merely shot the youth a sad kind of smile, his heart tugging at what could have been.

A close friendship.

Mido's form seemed to stutter, as if he was sobbing in his straight-standing stature. Realising it, the smiling Link dropped his expression to give way to a melancholic frown of his own before stepping forward. Though the watching Raynard and Sheik narrowed their eyes and made ready to interfere, they were seemingly too late.

The frowning Link bent down on one knee to reach the crying Mido's level; reaching forward with his big arms he took his former childhood bully into his soft grip to embrace him.

"I'm-I'm so sorry...," Mido stammered out, his words almost unintelligible in the sorrow he was exhibiting. "I was... wrong about him."

Link chose to remain silent in his shut-eyed frown as he held the young boy close, listening intently.

"I sh-should never have said... those things..."

His words, full of regret and wistfulness, managed to pierce through the hardened exterior Link attempted to display. Though he managed to keep a straight face, he found his lower lip quivering ever so slightly.

"It was...," Mido began one final time before ending his confession. "It was all my fault... I'm so sorry..."

The two remained in a friendly but grieving hug together for a few more moments, Mido's blubbering voice echoing against the hardened walls of the Lost Woods.

~

Travelling through the Kokiri Forest's Lost Woods became a mournful march for the group of four; Sheik, Raynard and Navi all grew deathly silent as the party of adventurers moved on from their discussion with Mido. Having passed by the young Kokiri after Link's engagement with him, the group continued on their advance through the dark woodland area, the Sacred Forest Meadow their destination.

"Shouldn't we say something?" Raynard hissed over in a hardened frown, stepping along with a healthy distance between himself and the marching Link. "I'm not diggin' the silence."

"Neither am I...," Sheik answered, narrowing his fiery eye forward at the back form of the Hero of Time. "But this is his home. I'd rather not provoke him any further if at all possible."

Sighing through his nose, the annoyed-expressed mercenary turned his black-haired head to re-face forward just as the group of adventurers stepped through the last wooden trunk. Walking on through the darkness they emerged into a similarly shaded grassy wonderland with a long wall before them. Narrowing his oceanic eyes at the labyrinth placed before the wide patch of long grass, Link couldn't help but listen quietly.

Sure enough, he heard the far-off sounds of armour clinking and steel echoing. Sheik was right, he thought.

There must be at least five units of men in there.

"Okay...," Sheik at last spoke, perhaps thankful for the opportunity; stepping forward he stood next to the similarly frowning youth as they waited out the entrance to the maze ahead of them. "You remember the strategy, yes?"

"Yeah...," Link muttered back, his aquatic eyes very briefly narrowing as they faced the blonde Sheikah on his left before briskly walking forward. "I remember."

Stopping just shy of the entrance itself, Link watched and waited carefully.

STOMP... STOMP...

Just as the sound of the approaching force to his right echoed on, Link reached slowly up for the sky-blue hilt of the Master Sword.

STOMP... STOMP...

As the tall and intimidating form of the Moblin 'round the corner stepped into frame, Link's cerulean eyes widened as he reached back for his weapon.

SHIING-CLANG

With eyes widened, the tall Moblin rose up his long spear; the steel clashed heavily with the holy material of the Master Sword. Sparks of fury clashed between the pair of warriors and, acting on his compatriot's morale, Sheik used the wall of the labyrinth to leap up off of. Forward-flipping ahead he dove down a bird's-eye-view of what appeared to be near-invisible projectiles. Bearing down on the growling pig-like creature, the Moblin squealed as the sheer force of the needles barring his vision sent him skewered and stumbling a few steps back in the maze he resided in. Pressing on with the group's momentum and force, the wide-eyed Raynard used the walls around him as a vault to flip backward into the air. Descending down on the shock-faced Moblin he grunted once as he spun savagely in a turbulent twisting technique; his halberd sung a steel-like tune as it swung painfully across the screaming monster. With the last strike, the Moblin was sent sprawling across the ground, a sickening mixture of blood and light-green shaded fire left in his fallen wake.

"Good...," Sheik nodded in approving, having landed earlier. Stepping forward and past the hard-frowning Raynard he bent down as if to examine the stained green-grassy ground, eye narrowed. "As long as we all work together...," the Sheikah began thoughtfully in his hardened march before swiftly stopping at the end of the corridor. "These men don't stand a chance."

Though there was little companionship between the two men, the listening Link and Raynard merely briefly glanced at one another before slowly pressing forward under the guiding leadership of their commander.

–

3

Having navigated successfully through the maze-like labyrinth, thanks to the grateful research of the knowledgeable Sheik, the group party of four managed to come to the last trial; a staircase and the endeavour laying in wait for the warriors.

A humongous-class Moblin that easily towered to the cramped walls' tops; in noticing the party of young men and their blue guardian fairy, the pig-like creature pulled its similarly colossal hammer up. With a trio of three snorts, presumably deduced as derisive laughter, the Moblin rose up its weapon threateningly; a warning in and of itself.

Exchanging a look, all three men shared an understanding nod with one another, similarly frowning together. Grunting lightly, Sheik shut his flaming crimson eye to stand up straight; pulling his bandaged hands up to form hand signs he seemed to focus quietly to himself. As if in response, a visible aura of golden Aegir began to form around the outline of his slim body; reaching forward to grip at the mysterious youth's two shoulders, both the narrow-eyed Raynard and Link appeared to join with him in some odd combination. Snapping his flaming eye wide open Sheik glared forward, surprising the silently watching Moblin.

"Now!"

On his word, the pair of adventurers tied to the Sheikah's sides shot off like arrows, golden Quintessence trailing along behind them. Gasping as he watched, the Moblin bore witness to the super-fast forms of his enemies; barely able to follow their movements he caught what appeared to be a pair of golden flashes zig-zag across each wall in an attempt to reach toward his current position. Panicking he grunted as he rose up his mallet and wildly swung it around the small confined space in an attempt to swat the two away. Unfortunately for him however the duo shot straight by his inaccurate assault, leaving behind golden rays of light. As they passed by his humongous form the super-fast Link and Raynard sliced their respective weapons into the Moblin's flesh.

Turning his gruesome head skyward to scream in mortal pain, the mallet-wielding warrior was finally done in when the similarly swift Sheik shot in the scene brandishing a sharpened dagger. Having skid across the grassy ground, successfully evading the Moblin's strike, he struck the creature himself with a well-placed horizontal cut. Seemingly having been taken down, the Moblin gave out one final grunt of agony before dropping with a thunderous crash.

DROOM

Even as his enormous size crumbled into the same green fire his comrades did, the hard-frowning Link, Raynard and Sheik all slowly marched up the second staircase before them. Entering into the Sacred Forest Meadow's most hidden area the adventurers belted their weapons, all striding in single-file.

"Do you recognise it?"

Navi's voice, so soft, managed to take him off guard; Link shook his head of his surprise and faced his guardian fairy with his curious frown before re-facing the front and furrowing his brow. Ahead of him lay the similar-looking stone-like platform he remembered from his childhood, decorated with the Holy Triforce in its centre. To the right lay a familiar sight indeed; a modest little tree stump lay alone in the grassy ground beneath it, joined only by the odd Deku Stick laying nearby. Link found his heart oddly reaching out toward it, wishing for the appearance of his old friend.

He saw the outline of the smiling green-haired Saria sitting atop her favourite spot on the tree stump, playing her tan ocarina.

"The flow of time is always cruel...," Sheik at last spoke, as if reading the young Kokiri's thoughts. Surprised a second time, he held back his frowning grunt as he turned his blue-eyed expression on the marching Sheikah. "Its speed seems different for each person, but no-one can change it..."

Opting to remain silent, Link and Raynard watched on; placing his right hand on his hip, Link merely frowned as his black-haired ally folded his arms in response next to him.

"A thing that doesn't change with time... is a memory of younger days...," Sheik began once more, an odd kind of smile in his tone as he bent down in front of the tree stump. Reaching himself back up to a standing position he pulled his right bandaged hand into the confines of his midnight-blue suit. "Get your ocarina Link..."

Intrigued, the listening swordsman raised a similarly curious straw-haired eyebrow before doing just as he was asked. Raising up the royal-blue instrument to his mouth, he shut his analogous coloured eyes, expecting to play it.

Playing through a series of six notes on the shining-golden harp he carried, Sheik plucked each string as if it belonged to the holiest of institutions. Listening in, Link felt the music carry him away to days of his former childhood.

Pictures of Saria, Mido and even other Kokiri entered his open mind.

Following his instructor through the modestly played tune, Link shut his eyes in firm concentration as he felt the wind of the Lost Woods softly caress his face.

"Link..."

He resisted the urge to stop playing and widen his eyes at the familiarity of the demure voice echoing within the confines of his head.

Saria.

Is she alive?

Her voice sounded very real indeed.

In spite of the interruption the two played through the rest of the song beautifully and without incident; the sounds of their instruments rebounded hauntingly across the walls of the forest they resided in. Pulling the Ocarina of Time from his lips, Link at last re-opened his firm-eyed frown to face the similar-expressed Sheik. Placing his harp back within his suit he nodded his blonde head back at the Hero of Time.

"Yes...," he said, almost seemingly reading his thoughts somehow. "I could sense her also."

"Sense who?" Raynard rudely interrupted the exchange, his arms still folded. Narrowing his amber-eyed gaze into the conversation he darted them between Hyrule's pair of heroes. "Who are you talking about?"

"A... friend of mine...," Link answered softly, lowering his oceanic-eyed frown, his tone defeated and pessimistic. "She sounded so clear..." He finished by emphatically scrunching his eyes shut, passion-filled and all.

"I promise you Link; she is alive," Sheik countered in a narrow of his one visible eye, folding his arms boldly. "Now that the Minuet of Forest has been played... the Forest Temple is at last open to us."

"Finally...," the listening Raynard bluntly rolled his eyes; a display of his youth and impatience. "We can get this done." He spoke stepping around to turn his amber-eyed gaze skyward toward the broken stone staircase presumably leading toward the dungeon. Though he was just as anxious to get the job finished, Link found himself dreading even entering the Forest Temple.

A horrible feeling akin to when he entered the Dodongo's Cavern ran up his spine.

–

4

The sound of a grassy field beneath their boots made the hard-eyed Raynard turn his nose up in disgust; even in witnessing the wondrous sight of the inside of the Forest Temple before him he scowled in distaste.

"Vile...," the mercenary cursed, his tone emphasising his antipathy for the beautifully designed dungeon. "How long do we need to slog through this heap?" He questioned the unit's leader to his left, placing his steel halberd's lower hilt to rest vertically on the ground next to him.

"As long as it takes," Sheik answered over his shoulder as he passed the dark-haired warrior, stepping toward the stone staircase and platform ahead. "This isn't a social visit."

Joining his temporary ally, the similarly frowning Link marched alongside the blonde Sheikah, his oceanic eyes wandering across the two huge trees to his right and left sides.

"AWOOOO!"

Double-taking to the front, Link's eyes widened in alarm when two Wolfos forms shot straight up from the field beneath them, almost as if having been in wait for the group of warriors.

"Scatter!"

Acting partly on instinct and obeying their leader, Raynard and Link darted themselves to the right and left. Seemingly following his own example the narrow-eyed Sheik disappeared from common view as he shot straight up into the dark sky above him. Though the Wolfos on the left took off with an incredibly acrobatic leap in pursuit of the nimble Sheikah, the watching Raynard glared on as he shot Aegir projectiles via his halberd as a catalyst. His aim was true and, howling in agony, the wolf-like monster found itself careering back down to earth, crashing noisily and savagely into the stone-like entrance ahead of them all.

CRASH

Opting to take advantage of the young man's recovery, the second Wolfos darted forward in an obvious and direct assault; widening his amber eyes, Raynard rose up his halberd but feared he was much too late to make any sort of difference. Suddenly shooting across the sky was the narrow-eyed form of the Hero of Time brandishing the shining Master Sword; with an acrobatic spin in mid-air he swung his big brown boot against the Wolfos' head via its rear position. Spinning around with the roundhouse kick he delivered, the wolf grunted as it was shot off course stumbling toward its initial enemy. Although it turned very briefly to glare hatefully at the narrow-eyed Link the damage was done; the recovered Raynard spun in a similar spin attack of his own through the very form of his wild opponent. Along with the blood and dark-brown fur that came flying skyward accompanied the razor-hot skid-marks along the grass below his form.

In spite of the two adventurers' success however the first Wolfos had seemingly recovered from its earlier injury and, pulling itself up from the ground it shot for the duo before it in a deft leap. In a daring feat however the agile form of Sheik re-appeared in a swift plunging strike; with his knife he easily cut through the shocked lupine-like creature's back, a savage screech renting the air as it dissolved in a shower of blue fire.

"I hate this place already...," the scowling Raynard remarked, twisting his halberd 'round his right arm in a readied position as he stood back up straight. "Is there any way we can get this done quicker?"

"I suppose we could split up...," Sheik suggested with a light sigh as he pushed his bandaged hands off of his raised knees to stand back up. "How do you feel about that, Link?" He asked, raising a light-blonde eyebrow up. Though his tone was thoughtful, hopeful even almost, Link did not deign to notice.

Or even care.

"I just want to get this done, same as Raynard." He spoke back with an emphatic shake of his head, the pitch of his voice almost robotic and toneless; as he did he lowered his cerulean-eyed sight, an unsociable frown plastered on his face. Quietly approving the listening dark-haired mercenary mentioned in question nodded along with his blonde ally, frowning back at the Sheikah as if for an answer.

"All right then...," Sheik nodded before re-opening his mouth to continue. "Then Link and I shall-"

CLICK

Surprised by the youth's movement both Sheik and Raynard turned their heads to find the Hero of Time himself sheathing his weapons on his back before stepping forth to walk, presumably for the stone staircase and the entrance to the temple before him.

"Huh...," the watching Raynard muttered, his arms folded before turning his hardened glower on the similarly silent Sheikah. "Guess it's me and you then, huh?"

~

"What was that about?"

Navi's voice again; this time he had halfway expected it. Wandering his eyes to his lower right he frowned deeply as he stepped through the first corridor he had entered.

"What was what about?" He pressed her falsely, already aware what she was referring to. The sound of his boots clicked quietly against the hard stone of the surface he marched on.

"Don't make me come out with it...," she muttered, her tone annoyed. Though he did not want to discuss it he found himself twitching in his light frown. "Come on now; you're insulting my intelli-"

"I get it Navi..."

His words, though similarly soft, cut a blow into Navi's own. Briefly halting his walk he stared down at the ground beneath him, his morale low as his mood.

"I just...," he began, his face creasing ever so slightly to make room for an odd kind of sadness and thoughtfulness. Shaking his head he re-opened his mouth. "Seeing my home like this, it's..."

Remaining silent out of respect, the listening guardian fairy frowned back.

"I feel a lot of things right now," the youth claimed as he re-raised up his head to face the door before him. "Mainly anger... I think..."

"Just... remember what Sheik said...," Navi responded, her tone attempting to soothe the listening Link. "Saria still lives."

Recognising what she said, Link's brow furrowed, as if a new destination had been set for them. "Yeah...," he nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah you're right..."


	25. Knowing the Wrath

Chapter 25: Knowing the Wrath (of God)  
Purifying the Deep Coppice Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Uncharted Fates" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Psyche Out"; Scaverin's Theme - Street Fighter III'rd Strike OST (Online Edition). Scene 2 (First Half).

\--

With Link's re-awakening he learns a horrible truth in that during his seven-year long sleep in his acquisition of the legendary Master Sword, the warlord Ganondorf Dragmire has managed to overthrow Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule and has gained complete control of the highland country. In doing this he has not only crushed all hopes of a free Hyrule from the public but successfully infected all of the holy temples devoted to worship of the Sainted Three.

Having met with the country's last remaining hope, Sheik of the rebellion, Link is delivered with the option of joining with them in order to bolster their numbers and morale. In spite of his initial motivations to assist the princess Zelda in protecting her country and the Holy Triforce, the newly christened Hero of Time finds himself with no more patience for the daughter of Daphnes. Having been manipulated multiple times by her and even by the people in his childhood, he agrees only to assist Sheik in his quest as far as his home of the Kokiri Forest.

In meeting with fellow soldier Raynard Van Garrick he, Link, Navi and Sheik all temporarily join forces in an effort to free the forest of the evil Dreadlord Dragmire has breathed into it. Pressing on into the deep thicket of the Forest Temple, the three heroes all hope to break the hold the tyrannical king Ganondorf has on the divine sanctuary.

In playing the Minuet of Forest, Link hears the far-off voice of his old childhood friend Saria; the young girl whom raised him from birth. Though he mercilessly staves off the feelings of hurt and betrayal he holds faith in the one goal he had longed for in his entire quest for the Spiritual Stones...

A reunion.

\--

Scene 1

Stepping through the corridor's second door, the newly teamed up Sheik and Raynard turned their eyes around the area they stood in, frowning as they did. Having sauntered through the corridor behind them they now resided in a rather large room indeed; numerous entrances and exits into new areas lay to the duo's sides in all directions. In the centre of the room however was the eye-catching dais and the four torches surrounding it. Laid in platforms overlooking the tall podium, the sconces burned with no fire; narrowing their eyes over at it in search, the party of two began to approach via the stone staircase before them.

"Looks... dangerous," Raynard began, his eyes narrowing with a hint of suspicion at the end of his sentence. "Somethin' went down here before we got here Sheik."

"It certainly looks like it...," Sheik murmured out, his soft voice bouncing across the small walls of the platforms next to them. He stepped silently across the plush red carpet laid out around the platform's outline, seemingly investigating the torches themselves. Using his slim fingers he ran them across the top of the sconces, seemingly searching for something. "Something most definitely took the fire from these." The Sheikah wisely stated with a confirming narrow-eyed nod.

"Hmph...," Raynard huffed with a nod of his own, this one of annoyance. "What a pain..."

"Oh it's better than I could have hoped for..."

Their senses tensing violently, the rebellion's two swivelled their heads 'round in sudden search, their fingers twitching for their weapons. Unfortunately for the pair they couldn't seem to locate the interrupting echoing voice; a masculine, deep voice that seemed somehow familiar.

"To find the rebellion's leader separated from his valuable pawn...," the voice knocked against the walls emphatically and threateningly. Sheik reached for his knife, snapping his fiery eye 'round in quick search for the man's voice. "I just cannot let this opportunity slip by..."

"I know that voice..." Sheik murmured out in recognition, his brow furrowing in response.

"You know him...?!" Raynard hissed back next to him, surprised.

Further shocking the duo a robed figure stepped forth from the darkened shadows of the north-end of the room. Seemingly having come from the long staircase and its platform and door, the cloaked man smirked back at them as he brought his hood down to reveal his bald-headed face.

"You...!" Sheik gasped out, his crimson eye widening in a mixture of awe and realisation. Still similarly curious the watching dark-haired Raynard darted his head between the pair, unsure.

"Wh-What? Who is it?"

Pulling his dark-brown robed arms back into a basic fighting stance, the figure revealed now to be the confident-expressed Scaverin glared back at the pair before him. As the dark holes in his cloak's arms lit up in a visible blue light of Aegir, Scaverin's eyes narrowed hungrily.

"A servant of God...," the bald-headed warrior began lowly before chuckling maliciously as he narrowed his eyes forward, his words echoing quietly and hauntingly. "My child..."

~

DROOM

His nerves biting at him, Link snapped his straw-haired head around to his rear to find the raised door behind him becoming inaccessible due to the steel bars slamming down with it.

That can only mean one thing, he thought.

"Link!"

Sure enough, two forms leaping upward to his front made the blonde youth swivel 'round in narrow-eyed glare. Along with Navi's warning call came the recognition of their forms; skeletal soldiers glowered back at him as they back-dashed through the air, presumably to gain some valuable space. Dressed in mere dark-cerulean rags around the midriff, legs and hands, they gave off a frightening persona indeed, especially when combined with the death-like glare of their hot-crimson beady eyes. Carrying iron steel shoulder pads, they looked the part of a soldier with the murky spherical shields they brandished. To finish off their similarly twisted aesthetic they both wielded a pair of zig-zag bladed swords.

A duo of Stalfos warriors.

Opting to take the initiative and, seemingly get lucky, the Stalfos on the right growled lowly as it began to pelt forward in a sudden lunge, sword held back. Narrowing his aquatic eyes at his rapidly-approaching enemy Link lowered his body and delivered a deft roll forward to evade the obvious assault. Unfortunately for him however, in his recovery he caught the flash of the second Stalfos rushing him from the left side with a biting stab attack. Widening his eyes this time the acrobatic Hero of Time pulled out the Master Sword in a heartbeat to meet the incoming threat.

CLANG-SKRRRR

Multiple sparks of iron and steel flashed between the engaged pair; the Stalfos roared emphatically and hatefully at the hard-eyed glare on Link's facial expression. Catching the sight of the approaching first Stalfos out of the corner of his left eye however Link grunted as he pushed at the first with his free Hylian Shield. Finding itself growling as it was sent stumbling a few steps back it offered the youth a priceless few seconds and space to work with in order to prepare for the next engagement.

Surprising him however, the skeletal soldier leapt toward him in an acrobatic manoeuvre involving the use of his bony ragged legs; in a daring air-spinning assault, the Stalfos struck him with a twisting trio of tumbling roundhouse swings. Though he was caught by the first one, drawing blood, Link managed to block the final two with his Hylian Shield as he spun back 'round to face his opponent. Landing from his air entanglement, the blonde youth's eyes double-took in a darting direction to his top right; snagging the sight of the second Stalfos warrior diving down for him he swiftly twisted himself across the wall behind him to avoid its plunging strike.

WHEEEEW-KA-CHINK

In expectancy of the emaciated warrior's inevitable missing jab, the poor demonic swordsman found his weapon stuck directly into the tough-looking wall. Taking deft advantage of the situation the wide-eyed Link exclaimed with effort as he brought down the Master Sword savagely across the Stalfos' outstretched and vulnerable arm.

SLICE

In keeping with the brightly-blue shining Master Sword, the skeletal soldier found itself roaring in great physical agony; along with its fallen limb came the rest of its body turning alight in a shower of emerald-green inferno. Perhaps shocked with the intensity and upgrade in strength of his weapon, Link couldn't help but become enraptured in the results of the engagement. Staring down at the shining steel of the divine instrument in his left arm, he could only widen his blue eyes down at it.

Unfortunately however the youth had very little time to react when he found the final Stalfos rushing at him yet again from his undefended side. With effort the narrow-eyed Link leapt to his left in deft evasion, barely dodging the lunging vertical slash the bony gladiator attempted to strike him with. Pressing on with a counter-attack, Link narrowed his eyes ahead before pouncing forward, Hylian Shield in his right hand. Grunting in light aching, the Stalfos was sent stumbling a few steps back from the youth's sudden pressure; following up, Link spun once lowly as he smashed the sky-blue hilt of his sword directly into the skeleton's lower torso.

SLAM

Gasping, the hell-eyed corpse found itself shot temporarily into the air from the sheer force of its opponent's strength. Following up his counter, Link held back the Master Sword with widened eyes before suddenly and finally spinning with great physical and mental effort, his weapon covered in a flaming Aegir.

"HYA!"

HACK-SLASH-SMASH

In ending his finishing technique, the Hero of Time found himself spinning as he twisted through the air before finally landing in a safe drift along the firm ground. In having been viciously torn apart by the holy instrument, the Stalfos soon found itself dissolving, just as its comrade had. Oceanic eyes narrowed Link still gripped the holy Master Sword with both arms, a hardened glare on his expression. Opting instead not to speak, the watching Navi couldn't help but grow a small smile on her face; the satisfaction at not only having to even advise her charge...

… but the silent contentment at knowing he relied purely on his own strength this time put the loyal guardian fairy's mind at ease.

The sound of a treasure chest being materialised behind him made him very briefly hover his eyes in its direction before re-facing the front. Pulling himself back up to a standing and straight position, Link let out a light sigh through his nose as he regained the use of both of his tools. Turning his firm-eyed frown to the metal spikes shooting up in response to the monster's defeat, his brow furrowed. Blowing away a loose long strand of blonde hair out of his eyes he leaned his head to the side in his stare before opening his mouth to speak.

"I sure hope Sheik and Raynard are having better luck than us..."

–

2

With an echoing laugh, the cloaked Scaverin shot his grin across the darkened skies of the deep Forest Temple's lobby. Having sent countless numerous snakes on after the speeding form of the narrow-eyed Sheik, the summoner watched on with glorious glee; with a contrasting hardened scowl behind the turban and scarf he wore, the blonde Sheikah ran across the walls in an attempt to outrun the flying and slithering snakes. His black eyebrows rising in recognition however, Scaverin grunted as he back-dashed into the air to avoid the yelling Raynard's leaping spinning assault; savagely twisting through the air with his halberd, the young dark-haired mercenary watched with disappointment as the blade of his weapon cut through the man's cloth.

Scaverin chuckled lowly and superiorly as he hovered through the air, eyes narrowing as he ran an index finger back and forth in response to the brash youth before him; as if a message of some kind. Scowling back, Raynard turned and spat diagonally downward at the plush red carpet below him before he short-hopped up to the platform before him. Using it as a vault he shot off spiralling from the dais as if he were a super-arrow fired from a ballista. With his eyes narrowing the watching Scaverin waited until just as the young axe-fighter approached before bending his cloaked body back downwards. Effectively avoiding the fiery warrior's revolving assault, the former devout furrowed his brow to match the effort he shot his foot up in a sudden kick. Time almost seemed to stop for the pair; wide-eyed, bewildered and even horrified, Raynard could only stare down wordlessly at the low fanged smirk his opponent wore so well before it was soon followed up. Similarly somersaulting skyward, Scaverin spun in a short overhead slam that sent the grunting Raynard careering down back to earth.

SMASH

Landing just shy of the lavish red rug, the poor youth was encapsulated firmly within a fresh site of wreckage; debris and other material spat up from the ground as Raynard was kicked roughly into it. Opting to interrupt however, the glaring Sheik darted in from the temple's wall, his target; the recovering Scaverin. Filling his brightly-blue cloaked arms with Aegir, the bald-headed summoner narrowed his eyes similarly as he clashed with the glowering Sheikah warrior.

CLANG-SKRRR

As they met in mid-air, the pair glared at one another through the threatening sparks that their weapons created; Sheik's long knife raged against the scowling Scaverin's Quintessence-filled arms, a veritable shield in and of itself. Surprising them both however a second knife, seemingly a throwing one, was tossed in the wide-eyed summoner's direction. Forcefully breaking the weapon struggle, Scaverin pushed himself against Sheik's hovering form causing the Sheikah to flip backward into the air he lingered in. Skidding ruthlessly through the ground, he managed to spit up similar rubble that his opponent had; narrowing his eyes in its direction, the glaring Scaverin found a corner of his mouth upturn into a satisfied smirk.

The similarly glaring form of Raynard huffed continually, evidently out of breath from his earlier vicious wounding; still leaning forward with his free left hand, seemingly the one he used to throw with, the culprit of the sneak attack revealed itself to the once religiously loyal summoner.

"Shame on you...," the mantled man hissed forward in a mocking shake of his head, narrowing his eyes similarly. "Ambushing an old man from the back..."

Though he listened in silence, the watching Raynard merely twitched his scowl back at the sarcastic Scaverin.

"You could have really hurt me..." He threw into the air with a lop-sided grin, knowingly confident and derisive in tone.

As Sheik landed in a quiet frown he turned to briefly exchange a silent nod with his similar-faced ally. Running his finger across his clothed nose, Sheik abruptly snapped to his right and disappeared with surprising speed indeed; acting similarly, the narrow-eyed Raynard leapt to his mirrored left and vanished from the common eye, the wreckage below the only reminder of his existence. Watching quietly, the grinning former priest circled his cerulean-glowing arms in a visible sphere before using his right to handstand forward. Shooting out from the older man's sharp-right was the growling Raynard in a daring slide-tackle; grinning in his hand-standing position, Scaverin pushed up once to vault himself skyward for just a second. Surprised and, by now worried, Raynard's eyes widened as he realised he was directly vulnerable.

And in his enemy's grasp.

With a hungry lick of his lips, Scaverin pulled his glowing cloaked arm back into a fist before bulleting it down to smash into the exposed mercenary beneath him. Alarming both of the men however was the sudden appearance of cryptically quick form of Sheik; in a daring move the elusive Sheikah managed to insert himself between the glaring summoner and his wide-eyed prey. Forming a transparent shield made of a brilliant golden-coloured Aegir, the blonde Sheikah managed to successfully bat away the growling older man's assault attempt. Silently thankful, the gulping Raynard shot through unharmed before grunting as he used the ground beneath him to vault from in an audacious back-flip toward his hovering opponent.

Clocking him briefly, the narrow-eyed Scaverin shot his left glowing arm to his left to meet the yelling mercenary's spinning and drilling legs; a spiral arrow manoeuvre. In an astonishing feat however, the firm-eyed Raynard's technique managed to at last pierce through the cloaked warrior's defences.

"Hrngh...!"

Grunting out his agonised yell of pain, Scaverin found himself being sent soaring and spinning back down to earth.

SMASH-CRASH-DRRR

Breaking apart the east platform, Scaverin was sent viciously colliding through the new stone wreckage. Along with the smoke and debris that spiralled across the sky, the watching Sheik grunted as he rose up his bandaged arms in a diagonal cross to block his face.

"Raynard...!" He called through the chaos, his crimson eye narrowing on.

In spite of his concerned cry, the poor Sheikah received no word back from his ally and companion; watching on silently he readied his nerves for the worst scenario possible. Surprising the Sheikah a second time however, as the smoke cleared, the gasping Raynard was seen standing directly over the fallen form of their wreckage-covered enemy. Sighing through his nose as he registered the battle results, Sheik allowed himself to smile through the bright-white scarf he wore, nodding on in approving before leisurely approaching the pair.

"I won't lie...," he admitted with the smile in his tone. "I was worried there..."

Perhaps similarly amused, the visibly fatigued Raynard shot his Sheikah commander a light grin before leaning down presumably to reach for his seemingly defeated enemy. Distressing the pair of heroes however the wide-eyed Scaverin shot his left arm up to grasp at the similarly shocked Raynard's outstretched own left. In doing so he successfully managed to catch it in a locked engagement; pulling his right cloaked arm back he formed a visible blue-glowing blade of Aegir to pierce him with. Thinking fast, Sheik grunted as he tossed a pair of throwing knives directly for the summoner's vulnerable right arm.

Growling in an angered setback, Scaverin violently pushed the younger dark-haired warrior's arm to send him stumbling back and give the older man some room. Using the ground beneath him he back-rolled to evade the super-fast serrated blades; clanging viciously against the ground mere milliseconds in between, Scaverin at last recovered by standing up straight and darting his darkened eyes around to the similarly exhausted pair before him. His mind seemingly thinking through on possibilities and results, the summoner finally scowled in anger and disappointment as he glared on at his younger enemies.

"Impressive effort boys...," he murmured on before furrowing his brow forward as he continued, reaching for a Deku Nut on his belt. "But you cannot hide from God's wrath forever...," he claimed ominously, his deeper voice batting against the walls of the similarly divine Forest Temple. Raising up the Deku Nut via his left hand he glowered on. Watching on in silence both Raynard and Sheik similarly scowled back as they listened intently. "Kaminoikari-o-osoreru..." He finished before seemingly absent-mindedly dropping the tool in his left fingers.

FLASH

~

Sauntering on through the Forest Temple's lobby, Link couldn't help but blink back at the incredulous sight laying before him; a grave vision of pure destruction stewed away, with a platform and numerous spots around the centre dais having been ran through. Turning his oceanic eyes to his right he found part of the platform having been demolished, seemingly by battle. Stepping down the stone staircase Link and Navi made the approach to the standing forms of his allies; seemingly the cause of the building ruin, the frowning Raynard and narrow-eyed Sheik turned their gazes toward the blonde hero as he walked along.

"What happened here?" The youth pressed the rebellion's pair, briefly wandering his sky-shaded eyes in the direction of the wreckage next to the dais. "Looks like a bomb went off..."

"It did...," Raynard huffed in a vertical jerking nod, biting at the inside of his cheek. Turning his head back to face him as he came near, Link frowned silently in response. "In a sense..."

Raising only his straw-haired eyebrow in silent pressing, Link stared back wordlessly.

"We were... attacked," Sheik cleared up for his unsociable partner, standing back up slowly from his previously crouching position. "Almost as soon as we entered here."

"Attacked?" Navi questioned, a curious tone in her voice. "But who-?"

"Goddess knows...," Raynard muttered back in the guardian fairy's direction, a scowl on his lips as he rolled his shoulders, as if to return feeling. "Some old guy in a cloak."

Narrowing his eyes in recognition, Link darted them back at the dark-haired mercenary.

"We know of him or, I should say, the rebellion does," Sheik again clarified for the group, folding his bandaged arms in a stable frown behind his white scarf. "Scaverin. A former devout bishop of the Hylianis militaris ordinis; we believe he is Ganondorf's former link to the Hylian military and its other information."

Realising he was talking about the odd cloaked figure he had encountered within Jabu Jabu's insides, Link narrowed his eyes as he let them wander away in thought. Darting along his brow furrowed quietly in silent rumination. Noticing it, the watching Sheik tilted his similarly blonde head.

"What is it?" He pressed, curious. Double-taking casually in his commander's direction, Link narrowed his sky-blue orbs before re-opening his mouth.

"There was... a man... fitting that description... within Jabu Jabu in Zora's Domain," the Hero of Time dutifully answered, similarly tilting his head back at the Sheikah. Listening on in revelation, Sheik widened his one visible crimson eye. "He was the one I think Ganondorf placed inside to block my progress."

"This is seven years ago, yeah?" Raynard questioned curiously as he joined the duo, placing a hand upon his hip. Link nodded in his grave frown as he re-faced the mercenary. "So then who's to say that's even reliable?" He added on with an emphatic shake of his head. "That could have been anyone for all we know."

"I recognise the possibility...," Sheik shot over into the conversation, his arms as consistently folded as before. "But I believe him," the resistance's leader boldly claimed as he turned to eye the surprised-expressed Link. "It all connects, after all."

Hesitant to relent perhaps for fear of trust, Raynard merely rolled his eyes. "Whatever...," the halberd wielding warrior muttered out. "Hardly matters once we clear the place out."

Almost as if reacting to what the brash youth had said, a sudden dim light to the foursome's sides made them all tense up; snapping their heads 'round to face the source they all found a similar-numbered sphere of light all descend down to the torches in the centre of the room. Surprised, Link watched these dim but vivid colours all delegate themselves; red, green, purple and blue. Almost as soon as the spheres of fire landed on the sconces the lobby lit up brightly and, as if in response, the dais hidden beneath the centre of the room slowly rose on up. A period of uncomfortable silence pervaded between the group of four as they watched in similar stillness, perhaps unwilling to move.

"Did...," Raynard started, abruptly narrowing his eyes in his allies' directions. "Did you two do that...?"

Exchanging a look with each other, Link sighed through his nose to match the frustrated shake of his head, contrasting well with the hidden smile beneath Sheik's scarf.


	26. End of the Line - Violent Struggle for Survival

Chapter 26: End of the Line – Violent Struggle for Survival  
Purifying the Deep Coppice Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Soy Sauce For Geese" - The King of Fighters XIV OST. Scene 1 (Second Half) & 2 (First Half).  
"Killing Moon" - Street Fighter III'rd Strike OST (Online Edition). Scene 2 (Second Half) & 3 (First & Second Halves).  
"Boss Clear" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 4.

\--

In having met with the resurrected Hylianis Militaris Ordinis, the re-awakened Link and Navi is introduced to Raynard Van Garrick; a brash young man rough around the edges with some potential in combat as well as the rebellion's leader himself.

Sheik of the extinct Sheikah race.

Although he makes a deal with the rebellion in co-operating so far as his childhood home, the Kokiri Forest, Sheik and the resistance's hidden leader, the missing princess Zelda both hope for a commitment to their cause from their newly christened 'Hero of Time'.

Feeling manipulated by the princess and near all that he has encountered, Link at last finds meaning in one of the presences within him he had once feared; the demonic Kage Narumono. In spite of his deep and intense hatred, the devilish entity had never once lied to the youth; it is with this unfortunate knowledge that Link is, very slowly, pushed toward trusting him over the rebellion's forces.

When infiltrating the monster-infested Kokiri Forest, Link's fears come to be true as he encounters the full wrath of the warlord Dragmire's rule; with terrifyingly sized creatures infecting his homeland, Link steels his courage for what is to be his greatest challenge yet...

\--

Scene 1

Having ridden down the moving rostrum one-by-one, the group of three men and the knowledgeable Navi soon found themselves deep down a lavishly designed room indeed; a boiling-shaded carpet graced the floor around the vertical dais as they descended down to meet it. A similarly deep shade of blue covered the rug that lay on ahead of them; a vertical alignment as opposed to the crimson one beneath them.

As the group wordlessly stalked through the darkened corridor before them they found their eyes wandering absent-mindedly to the numerous portraits littered across the walls down the long distance. Directly above the noticeably large door before them appeared to be a similar sort of symbol that Link had recognised much earlier on the platform just outside of the Forest Temple.

It must be the Forest Temple's signature, he thought.

As they stepped on through the large door before them, the group of heroes took note of the cramped area they had entered; upon noticing the stone stairwell to the right, they all traversed up single file.

I don't like this, Link thought silently to himself as he ascended on behind Sheik.

"It feels like..."

His ruminations gone unanswered and unfinished, the young Hero of Time made the final approach to his left after climbing the second and last flight of stairs.

"Stay close...," Sheik advised as he swept his hot-eyed vision across the arena before him. "I don't like how this looks."

Though silent, the watching Raynard and Link found themselves in wordless agreement; a set of golden spikes with a velvet red rope around them decorated the arena before them, going along wonderfully with the well-detailed portraits laying scattered across the walls. Oddly, there appeared to be an even number of paintings dotted around the museum-like arena. As Link sauntered through after his commander he took note of the portraits' minutiae.

Seemingly depicting what appeared to be a lonely solitary road that led directly into a darkened abyss-like castle in the distance. Laying around the depressing background of the field seemed to be winter bare trees, as if to add to the misery of the depiction before him.

Something about these paintings didn't seem right, Link thought silently to himself.

As the firm-frowning Raynard marched on inside after the blue-eyed hero in green, he folded his arms up at one of the still-life portraits. "I feel like we've gone through a wrong door or something...," the mercenary admitted to his annoyed thoughts, amber eyes narrowing on up at the trees depicted in the portrait before him. "Might be a good idea to turn back."

Agreeing for once with his dark-haired comrade, Link left his lingering look on one of the many paintings around the room before about-turning to leave. Soon finding himself bumping into something or perhaps, someone, Link raised a curious blonde eyebrow before coming face-to-face with a horrifying sight indeed. Widening his oceanic eyes back at it he found himself standing beneath the looming shadow of an abyss-shaded horse. By now, having gained the attention of the worried resistance soldiers, the darkened steed neighed proudly as it pulled itself and its rider temporarily upward before standing once more.

Horror filled the watching Link when he caught the rider's long flaming crimson hair and cat-like yellow eyes.

Ganondorf sat atop the blackened horse.

Gripping tightly what appeared to be a long three-bladed trident in his right hand, it seemed to be decorated with a very similar bisque-shaded jewel as the one within the Gerudian king's forehead.

"You..." Link gasped on out, his brow furrowing along with the hardened glare his aquatic orbed eyes took.

"Is it him...?!" Raynard hissed over to his commander, a visibly distressed tone to his baritone.

"No...," Sheik answered with an emphatic shake of his head. "This... appears to be Aegir."

"He's right Link!" Navi called out. "That's not Ganondorf! It's an apparition!"

Almost as if listening intently to the party's discussion, the ghost-like form of Ganondorf grinned on down at the narrow-eyed Hero of Time. With an echoing low chuckle that Link easily recognised, the phantasm ran his free burly left arm across his green-skinned face and, like magic, an intimidating helm decorated the man's head. Skull-like in nature, it appeared to resemble the Stalfos warriors Link had been engaged with before; two long vertical horns protruded into the sky at the sides of his head.

NEIGH

In a second haunting reverberation, the horse on which the apparition rode on leapt up; with an unnatural kind of Quintessence, the pair found themselves slowly floating on skyward. Almost unable to believe it, the group of heroes stared on in an unhealthy mixture of terror and panic before the phantom grunted with effort. As if in response his darkened steed roared with a similar kind of endeavour before the pair, against all notions of impossibility, bounded forward into one of the six paintings dotted around the arena.

~

Evil Spirit from Beyond - Phantom Ganon

"How...?!" Raynard called out incredulously, amber eyes widened in a mixture of horror and perplexity. "He went into the fucking painting!"

"Calm down!" Sheik snapped in advisement over his shoulder before swivelling his blonde head back to the front. Narrowing his fiery eye forward at the mercenary's point however, he conceded. "I can see that...," the Sheikah murmured, briefly eyeing the glaring Link far-off to his left. "This room will likely have been pre-meditated for our arrival."

Reaching back into his inventory, Link narrowed his eyes as anxiety and an unease sense of suspense bit at his nerves. As the sound of clopping echoed behind him the youth about-turned to find the darkened horse and its flame-tressed rider rushing at them from within the canvas they resided in.

"He's coming back!"

Link narrowed his sea-blue eyes to his side in the direction of the worried-voiced Raynard behind him.

"Shit!" The mercenary gasped out urgently, darting his thistly-haired head in his allies' area before re-facing the moving landscape before him. "I'm seeing another one over here!"

Sure enough, just as he described, a second copy of the phantom Ganondorf rode in another of the paintings against all notions of feasibility.

"Keep your bearings, both of you!" Sheik ordered, reaching for his knife as he briefly eyed both forms of their approaching enemy. "One will be a fake!"

Link's brow furrowed when he caught the sight, and sound, of a portal opening in the painting ahead of him; just as he expected. Pulling out the bow he had procured from his clash with the Stalfos swordsmen, the forest-bound swordsman nocked an arrow from the quiver he wore on his back.

"That's him! The real him!"

Fortunately, in spite of Navi's assistance, the narrow-eyed Link knew it regardless; with confidence backing his actions the hero in green stretched the string of the bow with the arrow he pulled. Eventually, as the phantasm before him began to gain form in the realm the four adventurers stood in, Link was able to confirm its authenticity. Ready and in time the blonde grunted as he let loose an arrow.

SQUELCH

In a sickening sound indeed, the original turned and retreated back into the painting behind him; satisfied with the result for now, Link temporarily lowered the bow in his grip as he watched in a hardened glare.

"No!"

Raynard's voice, surprising both the listening Link and Sheik, made them pivot their heads in his direction only to widen their eyes in similar-expressed terror. Against all possibility, finding yet another copy of the original phantom and his horse having leapt out of a portrait, the group could only stare before their Sheikah commander at last spoke.

"Scatter!"

On his order the men dispersed themselves as rapidly as they could, given the unfortunate timing. Just barely managing to avoid the inevitable strike of electricity that rent the centre of the battle arena, Link rolled forward to land directly in one of the arena's corners. Narrowing his eyes forward he rose his eyebrows when he found his similar-haired commander sticking to the wall rather athletically.

Impressive, he thought.

Even more surprising was the form of the scowling-faced Raynard; leaning his body back in his own corner he held his halberd back with his superior right hand. Outstretching his left at an open palm he appeared to form a visible transparent barrier of Aegir that evidently shielded him from the bird-like assault.

"It's coming back!"

Called to action again by their captain, Link and Raynard snapped their eyes around the battle arena in frantic search for their opponent. Finding an alarming number of copies of their phantom enemy, they widened their eyes in growing concern and panic.

"Every one of 'em could be fake!" Raynard yelled out, his voice breaking out of sheer fear; darting his amber eyes from each moving painting before the three men. "There's no way of knowing!"

"Calm down!"

Shutting their agitated argument out of his ears, Link narrowed his eyes at one form in particular; approaching from the canvas directly behind the standing Raynard, it looked just as similar to each one.

Something, he couldn't place, was off about it.

"Yeah; that's it."

Navi's confirmation, almost as if reading his very thoughts, made the young Hero of Time raise up his bow. Nocking a second arrow back the blonde narrowed his sea-blue eyes to thin slits, readying his nerves and the rest of his body. Just as he had seemingly expected the doorway of Quintessence opened up from the frames of the art-piece and from it charged through the phantom and his dusk-shaded steed. Letting loose the arrow he nocked back, Link watched as it struck the phantasm successfully; growling in what appeared to be pain, the rider abandoned his horse and it turned back to run off into the painting of which it crept from.

In spite of this revelation however, the other copies of the apparition merely continued to press on with their attack.

With this worried knowledge, the frightened Raynard could only watch from within his dim blue Aegir shield. Seemingly even as safe as his comrade, Sheik stared back with a widened eye of his own at the fast-approaching clone and its horse. Though the Sheikah reached for his knife and to move he was seemingly too slow to react; with a grunt of effort, the phantom's copy savagely smashed his trident diagonally against the youth's face.

SLAM

Its purpose apparently having been fulfilled, the attacking pair's forms found themselves dispersing into the air in which they resided in. Similarly, the other phantom's clones all disintegrated and Link soon found himself two men down.

"Sheik!" He called over panicked; tearing his narrow-eyed scowl away from the unconscious Sheikah he turned it now on the similarly fallen and comatose Raynard. "Ray!"

"Link I think they might be..." Navi trailed off, a wince in the tone of her voice. The listening blonde growled in a twitch of his annoyed scowl.

"I know...," he shot back in his low-toned rumble. "I need...," the youth in Kokiri colours began lowly as he swivelled his hard-eyed glare up to meet the unnaturally hovering Phantom Ganon. "More power..."

–

2

Readying another arrow from his bow, Link shut a single sky-shaded eye as he took aim; still seemingly wavering on through the air, the dark-eyed Phantom Ganon glared back at him. Resting his burly left arm across his hips he let his three-bladed trident hang by his side, the sound of his unnatural hovering ability giving off a high-pitched chime.

However he was doing that, he was doing it with Aegir.

Letting loose the third arrow he nocked behind his well-designed weapon, Link watched with concern as the narrow-eyed apparition merely batted the projectile away; with a grunt the firm-armoured man spun his trident in a rapid spherical motion, easily swatting the arrow.

"Tch!" Link managed out with a disappointed tinge to the twitch in his witnessing scowl.

"If you could just get it close...," Navi began in a narrow of her eyes behind her bulbous blue form. "The Master Sword would easily cleave through him!"

Surprised at her words Link found himself absently fingering the sky-blue hilt of the fabled blade resting on his back.

Just as she had said to him, it appeared to be the answer to all of his problems.

Jolting the youth with sudden movement however, the narrow-eyed Phantom Ganon spun the trident he carried once before grunting as he aimed it forward, as if to fire off a projectile of his own. Sure enough, a burning ball of Quintessence came careering for the young Hero of Time, pulsating with power.

"Don't touch it!"

Wide-eyed and shocked, Link gasped as he suddenly jerked his body to the side in an effort to evade the rapidly-approaching magical sphere. Though he was successful, the youth found himself growling in a mixture of anger and pain as he shut his left eye; as the ball of Aegir whizzed by him it managed to clip him across the left cheek. Visibly drawing blood, Link harshly inhaled air through his grit teeth in a short display of his agony and fury; in viewing his handiwork, the floating Phantom Ganon echoed on out a bouncing low chuckle, as if satisfied by the results. Snapping his oceanic eyes back up to face his hated enemy, Link shot the echo of the man above him the blackest of scowls; a look he had saved only for the original once before.

Pure hatred slowly seeped through his nerves, screaming at him to attack.

That's exactly what he wants, the youth thought to himself in an effort to think clearly.

Don't do it.

"He's mocking you."

Widening his eyes as he listened to the reverberating demonic-toned voice within his mind, Link realised who exactly that speed belonged to.

"Are you really going to let him get away with that...?"

The confrontational and acrimonious tone was unmistakeable; the voice of Kage Narumono spoke back to him, now seemingly conscious in spite of his efforts against.

As Phantom Ganon rose up his trident, seemingly for a second assault, Link glared back as he unsheathed the beautiful sheen of the legendary Master Sword.

"I know you can hear me."

Opting to ignore the satanic echo within the recesses of his consciousness, Link stared on in waiting for his opponent to act; sure enough, as he formed a second sphere of Quintessence, the hovering apparition above them fired it down with a low-toned grunt. This time, armed with the divine Master Sword, Link narrowed his eyes forward before renting the air with an emphatic shout as he savagely cut the air around the magical sphere as it approached. Surprising not only himself and the watching Navi but the gasping Phantom Ganon, the sphere of Aegir was soon batted back the way it came.

Finding himself unable to react in time the wide-eyed ghost-like form could barely move before the sphere collided viciously with him.

CRACK-DROOM

"Now Link! Now!"

Needing no further encouragement from his cobalt-coloured partner, the surprised-faced Hero of Time bounded forward in an urgent leap as the grunting Phantom Ganon slowly sunk back down to the ground. Seemingly stunned temporarily from his own attack the pained apparition found itself on one knee, its free left fist resting on the ground next to it. Wasting no more time Link leapt in a somersaulting battle crying diagonal slash attack; as if ringing with him, the Master Sword shone brightly with its metallic echoing ring as he landed.

SLICE-HACK-SQUELCH

"Grnngh...!"

In an echoing grunt, the phantasmagoric Gerudian king called out in visible agony before snapping his head back up to face his assaulting enemy; widening his hardened demonic-like eyes back at him, Link soon found himself artificially launched back the way he came, presumably by some kind of invisible Aegir force. His Hylian Shield rose up to defend against it, Link grunted back as he was sent skidding steps back, eyes scrunched up in his firm glare.

Recovering from his earlier assault, Phantom Ganon growled as he shot both arms to his side in a grandiose display to disperse the harmful magical energy he suffered earlier. Seemingly realising the shift in the battle, the shadowed echo soon turned his newly re-hovering attention to the fallen forms of Link's two comrades. Sensing his intentions, Link's sky-blue eyes widened in a mixture of horror and realisation.

He was going to turn on Sheik and Raynard he thought.

Acting on his inward fears the grunting narrow-eyed phantom rose up his trident, charged with the same forbidden Quintessence, before yelling in effort as he tossed the sphere. Noticing the trajectory it was sent in Link broke into an abrupt run in an effort to cross the distance. Unfortunately for the hopeful youth however, he found even in his top speed that he could not make the run in time.

Sheik and Raynard were going to die.

"Good... let them."

Opting again to ignore the echoing Kage Narumono's voice from within him Link gave vent to one final grunt of effort as he tossed the divine Master Sword forward desperately.

CLANG-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

Although he was successful, he found himself without a weapon; taking immediate note of this the form of Phantom Ganon let out a reverberating low chuckle as he glared on down at the youth in seeming preparation. Unwilling to move for fear of being attacked, Link merely stared on back wordlessly at the similarly watching phantasm before him; finally moving to action, Phantom Ganon rose up his trident once more. Spinning it as always he seemingly grinned beneath the demonic helmet he wore so well before readying it, presumably to fire directly down at the green-garbed youth.

Surprising him again however the ghost-like warrior laughed derisively as his aim was, once again, directed down to the unconscious forms of his allies. Wide-eyed and horrified Link broke into a second run; armed with only his Hylian Shield this time however Link opted to use both of his brawny arms in an attempt to block incoming orb of Aegir energy.

DROOM-FLASH

In a gasping grunt, Link found his safeguard crumbling before his very arms; savagely, it was tossed away from his grip forcefully, clanging noisily and sickeningly across the battle arena. In spite of its protection, a sliver of the magical energy managed to pierce through, injuring him. Grunting as he fell down to a kneeling position, Link used his now free left arm to run his gloved wrist across his mouth to clean the trickle of blood that dribbled down from the side of his lips. Horrifying him a final time however, Phantom Ganon spun the trio-bladed trident in his possession presumably for one more projectile.

"Link you have to move!"

Thanks for the advice Navi, he thought in an angry sarcastic frown.

Terror gripped at his senses as he watched the laughing ghost above him prepare the last attack, directed not just for his comrades, but the blonde youth himself.

A versatile assault indeed.

Unable to move Link could only stare in wide-eyed dread as the ball of Quintessence shot on directly for him, sparkling with magical energy.

The last thing he saw was the flash of the rapidly-moving globe before it made its final approach.

~

"MURYOKU!"

FLASH-KZZZZZZZ

With an elongated savage grin upon his demonic expression the newly re-awakened Kage Narumono slammed the ground beneath his heel with a bold expression of strength; in doing so he managed to bat away the ball of negative Aegir that Phantom Ganon had shot down previously. Though the body he shared with the concerned Link had been damaged heavily by battle, even sporting small wounds across his face, Kage appeared as confident and as bold as he always had. Though carrying no weapons or even any tools of any kind in his grip, Kage shot the floating phantasm a bloody fanged grin as he slowly spun his arms 'round to end his former technique.

The watching Phantom Ganon's golden eyes lit up unnaturally, as if something else was living behind them. As they now washed over the new introduction of the fiery-aura form of Kage, he opened his mouth behind the skull-like helmet he wore.

"Interesting...," he began, his voice having a similarly demonic tint to it as it echoed on across the walls of their battle arena. "Very interesting..."

His curiosity piqued, the listening demon raised a similarly inquisitive eyebrow upwards as he listened and watched.

"You're... different... aren't you...?" The frowning form of Phantom Ganon spoke, his voice reverberating as he narrowed his eyes down at the tilting headed Kage. "Whatever you are...," he re-began, glaring down. "You are a separate entity..."

"Hah...," Kage laughed under his breath as he ran his arm across his bloody face, fiery-red eyes similarly narrowing. "I could say the same..."

"Whatever do you mean...?"

"I mean...," Kage shot back in an emphatic crease of his low scowl. "That you send this stand-in to fight me," he accused, this time in a hateful glower. Perhaps surprised, Phantom Ganon's eyes widened beneath his helmet. "Awarena..." He muttered, a cruel tone to his voice.

"Language of the Sainted Three; a forgotten tongue...," Phantom Ganon murmured, firmly watching on. "Yes... I was right," he finished, a grin behind his words. "That boy must possess the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai."

Merely laughing lowly back in response as if to confirm the absent man's thoughts Kage watched him carefully, a devious smirk dancing about his fanged mouth.

"Essence of the Triforce...!" The ghost-like form of Ganondorf finished out in a furrow-eyed glare, raising up his free left arm at the palm, as if to hold something within it and display it to his opponent. "I will take your divine Aegir...," he informed similarly hatefully before creasing his face into an ugly grimace. "And destroy you."

–

3

In a daring charge forward, Phantom Ganon swung his huge trident to bear down imminently over the demonic-expressed youth; in response, the grinning Kage Narumono grappled with the bladed weapon using his free arms. As if being sheerly melted by his touch, the trident began to glow with the same hot-red aura that encapsulated the smirking-faced Kage. Taking swift note of it, the watching phantasm widened his yellow eyes beneath the helmet he wore as he attempted to wrest control of his weapon.

Acting, and thinking similarly rapidly, Phantom Ganon grunted as he merely let go of his trident before back-dashing away to safety. Skidding across the well-designed battle arena, the hardened ghost glared back at the low chuckling Kage; as he watched, the demonic warrior very slowly softened the tempered steel within his raised left palm. Narrowing his fiery-crimson eyes back at the horrified face of his enemy, Kage very gradually lost his amused grin to give way into an intimidating hateful scowl.

"To rely on weaponry...," the beast-like warrior growled on over before slitting his eyes viciously at his enemy. "Moroi..."

"Indeed you speak the ancient language of the Sainted Three and of the civilisation before our own...," Phantom Ganon mused aloud as he began to pace around the room, eyes glaring on after the demonic warrior. "Your origins must be linked to those of the Holy Triforce...," the man concluded before raising his right arm. Although the silent Kage watched him carefully and suspiciously, Phantom Ganon opted merely to reach for his skull helmet; in doing so he managed to pull it off with a noisy snap of his fingers. As if by magic, his green-skinned face was now visible once more and, in spite of it being a mere projection of the man, one could easily be fooled into thinking it was really him.

A clone of Ganondorf Dragmire now stood directly across from the glowering Kage.

"I have an offer for you...," he began, tilting his head lightly to his right side as he gained a slow grin. "If you are willing to listen..."

Curious but not without his vicious black look ever upon his face, Kage glared back as he re-straightened his stature, as if to listen on.

"In spite of your little...," the clone started once more, soon narrowing his amber orbs back at the supernaturally strong demon before him. "Rebellion...," he hissed out in a knowing hateful spit as he gazed over briefly at the fallen and unconscious forms of Raynard and Sheik before re-facing the mirrored youth. "My grip on this country is absolute."

Kage opted to remain silent in his hard-eyed glower as he listened intently, keeping his clawed fists clenched and gripped at his two sides.

"If I were to add your power to my own...," the ghost spoke for his original, a knowing grin spreading across his face. "Our influence could spread just as easily into the neighbouring lands! And perhaps even... the world...!"

"Huh...," Kage merely grunted back in a brief nod upwards of his head, a kind of disgusted scowl upon his ugly expression. Raising a flaming eyebrow, Phantom Ganon pressed his opponent for a further response. "There is only one thing that matters to me..."

Similarly inquisitive, Phantom Ganon tilted his head, this time in a hardened frown. "And that is...?"

Widening his satanic eyes, Kage rose up his burning right fist before crashing it into the ground on which he stood on so boldly.

DROOM

"MESSATSU!"

~

Pressing forward in an audacious dive-kick Kage Narumono roared with effort as he dove down from the sky, his leg poised directly down in an arrow-like motion. The rest of his body straightened up into an eagle-like formation, as if to propel him further downward; preparing himself for his opponent's inevitable approach, Phantom Ganon readied his now free hands to catch and parry the descending demon.

FWIP

Surprising him, his amber eyes widened as he watched the scowling-faced Kage leave a single after-image behind, his sailing form slowly zipping away from reality.

"What in the-?"

Double-taking to his undefended rear, Phantom Ganon's eyes widened once more in worry when he found the re-appeared Kage plunging down from the sky.

SMACK

"Grnngh...!"

The pained form of the ghost warrior found himself caught within the brute's combination; as Kage landed he spun in a hard-eyed skid before issuing forward a crouching low palm followed by a raise of his right leg in a devastating roundhouse kick. In a pained grunt, Phantom Ganon was sent reeling and spinning backward into the air; pursuing on after him, Kage growled as he spiralled his own body in an impossible revolving twist, a strange kind of flip. Casting his satanically burning eye down to glare over at his falling enemy, Kage sent his extended palm out to strike viciously at the recovering phantasmagoric form.

CRASH

Having been struck by the savage attack, Phantom Ganon found himself twisting into the wall behind him, wreckage and debris following his wake. Renewed from his earlier endeavour, the watching Kage merely frowned on coldly and silently, a hardened glower to his shadowed expression.

DROOM-DRRRR

As expected, the rubble before him blew apart in an atrocious explosion of effort; the side of Kage's watching mouth upturned into a knowing and confident closed-mouthed smirk. The dust now having been cleared from his earlier injury, the newly grit-toothed scowling Phantom Ganon rose up both of his brawny arms in conjunction with his left roundhouse. Brimming with a fiery aura of Aegir, he yelled with effort as he brought it blasting back down to earth.

BOOM-RUMBLE...

Although the ground shook with tremendous force, the watching Kage narrowed merely only one of his eyes in suspicion as he stared forward.

Where is his attack, he thought silently to himself.

Almost as if to answer his very inward thoughts, movement to his undefended side made him double-take in its direction before re-widening his blazing-red eyes in surprise. Moving on instinct, the demonic-formed youth back-dashed through the air to safety away from the fast-approaching noticeable rumble in the earth. In spite of this defensive manoeuvre however, the watching spectre of the living Gerudian king merely chuckled maliciously before leaping in a forward roundhouse assault.

"Ah-!"

With a wide-eyed gasp of horror, Kage realised his mistake in his action...

… but all too late.

"Hngh!"

SMASH

In an agonisingly savage combination assault, Phantom Ganon managed to catch his opponent between himself and the very under-earth projectile he had sent. Following up his roundhouse kick, the ghost smashed his left palm directly into the roaring Kage's face, sending him reeling and skidding back. Joining both armoured hands this time however, Phantom Ganon completed his counter-attack with a double-palmed strike to the demon's torso and solar plexus, savagely sending him careering across the sky.

Pulling his superior right arm back however, the shadowed echo of Ganondorf grinned vindictively as he rapidly charged a mass of Quintessence within his palm. Forming in a sharply-shaped mass of wind-elemental Aegir, Phantom Ganon gave off one last laugh of wickedness before tossing it after the shut-eyed scowling Kage, his bass-like voice echoing on after it.

"Final... TEMPEST!"

WHOOSH-SKRRRR

Screaming in agonised pain, Kage's sailing form was rent asunder and brutally cut apart by the sphere of wind-style Quintessence. In slow pursuit of his falling enemy, Phantom Ganon let the pernicious crease to his face take over; now looming over the lying Kage, the demonic youth widened his satanically red eyes before reaching up with his own arms to grasp at the surprised-faced phantom above him. Although Phantom Ganon had similarly reached down, presumably to grapple with the demonic warrior, in Kage's grip he grunted as he found himself vaulting up into the sky.

With a rough pair of somersaulting back kicks across the face, the ghost echo of the Gerudian king was sent flipping over in a similar manner; hunting on after his opponent, Kage growled as he flipped backwards before pushing up off the ground in an acrobatic vault after the flying armoured warrior. In catching up with him he executed a series of air-spinning slashing kicks, savagely tearing apart the grunting phantasm.

"Tatsumaki ZANKU!"

In four echoing strikes, Kage managed to spin acrobatically through the air in his fierce barrage of spinning kicks before finishing his combination up with a dunking slashing punt. The clone of Hyrule's current monarch let out a pained grunt as he was sent spiralling and rocketing back down to earth, crashing noisily into the debris beneath him. Landing on after him, Kage's sinister-eyed gaze followed on after him as he paced on towards the fallen Gerudian king.

Perhaps desperate, the bloody-faced and visibly heavily injured Phantom Ganon shot up from the ground and threw a wild haymaker at the slow-approaching form of his enemy. Scowling back at him, Kage merely narrowed his eyes as he shot up his right fist to swat away the primitive strike in a deft parry before swinging his left back-hand in a grunting swipe.

SLAP

Gasping, the ghost-like form of Ganondorf found himself spinning back to the ground, bloody and visibly fatigued from the battle. Wide-eyed and horrified he began to crawl backward as if in retreat, watching the hateful-faced Kage; in response, the green-garbed demon shot up his right arm. Rapidly the ground began to rumble and, as Phantom Ganon found he had no more space to flee to, he caught the sight of smaller stones of the former debris lifting up supernaturally from the sheer force of which Kage commanded.

"I'll send you back to hell!" The infernal tone of the wide-eyed Kage's voice called out, echoing with finality as a similarly indigo-shaded aura began to encapsulate his straight-standing form. Pulling back his Aegir-charged arm, Kage Narumono widened his hellfire-like eyes before bringing it crashing down, as if a great-axe. "MESSEYO!"

DROOM-BANG-CRASH

In an incredible series of explosions and eruptions of his demolition-like Quintessence, Kage managed to fire the rest of his magical energy down onto the weakened form of his enemy. Although Phantom Ganon called out with a terrified-sounding scream, his deep voice was ultimately cut short by the merciless barrage of hellfire.

–

4

As the similarly purple-coloured aura of harmful energy finally petered out from the recovering form of the gasping Kage, he stood back up to a firmly-frowning stature to view the results of his handiwork. Almost as he had expected, as the smoke at last cleared before him, he found the fallen form of his enemy burning in a mess of purple and blue fire. His body wildly twitched as his form very slowly was pulled up into the air.

Hovering, Phantom Ganon appeared to lose all sense of consciousness and even sentience, his form drooping utterly and completely. Carefully, he was drawn toward the centre of the room; Kage Narumono watched with a firm-eyed glare around his demonic expression, seemingly satisfied at the results of the engagement.

"Impressive..."

The voice that resonated across the walls, interrupting and cutting, managed to make the hell-eyed Kage dart his head around in search.

A familiar voice indeed.

"The Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai indeed...," the voice, bass and deep in tone echoed on out. "You're quite a bit stronger than you were seven years ago... boy."

The voice, so similar to the deceased phantom's, could only be of the original; of Ganondorf himself.

Though he was very clearly referenced by the far-off Gerudian king's words, Kage's scowl grew worse as he listened, opting to growl back animalistically in response.

"But it is just that...," Ganondorf's rumbling voice reverberated. "You are but a mere boy. You may think your Shinzui is strong... but I assure you...," he started once more; Kage's satanic eyes narrowed in silence as he listened intently. "Mine's is stronger."

A side of his hardened frown upturned into an excited, fanged smirk.

"What a gigantic waste of time that ghost was...," Hyrule's king lamented angrily; as if triggered by his very echoing words, a darkened purple-like portal of Aegir opened up within the centre. As Phantom Ganon began to hover over it he at last appeared to regain consciousness and turned to scream in a mixture of horror and suffering. "I will banish you, for your failure...," he restarted before at last finishing his sentence. "To the gap between dimensions! To the void!"

Gripping the sides of its head the burning echo of Ganondorf was, very slowly, swallowed up by the dark doorway beneath it. In watching, a second bright cerulean portal opened up; one that Kage easily recognised. As its calming blue light washed over him his eyes widened.

This was a trap, he thought.

Almost as if reading his very paranoid thoughts, the similarly angelic-like coloured ball of blue that was Navi flew into his face.

Kage uttered a hateful ancient Hylian insult before his fiery-red eyes rolled up to the back of his head and he dropped to the floor unconscious.


	27. A Promise Kept

Chapter 27: A Promise Kept  
Answering the Sworn Oath Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Bittersweet Victory" - Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Fire Temple" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 4.

\--

With great difficulty Link, Navi and their comrades manage to successfully infiltrate the deeply infected Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods; in working together with the rebellion's leader Sheik and fellow soldier Raynard, Link hoped to free his homeland of the ruthless tyranny that king Ganondorf has inflicted upon it.

In entering the divine Forest Temple however, Sheik and Raynard are met with a dilemma; a former man of the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis and current right-hand of the great king of evil – a man by the name of 'Scaverin'. In a desperate and fiery fight indeed, Sheik and Raynard manage to swat away the formerly religious devout and soon learn that Ganondorf's death-like hold on the temples is deeper than they feared.

While exploring the profound corridors of the Forest Temple, the group of four heroes soon find themselves at the epicentre of the divine building; in doing so they not only uncover more than their enemy would have liked but are drawn into confrontation with one of his many pawns. A ghost-like clone of the man himself and made entirely in his own image, Phantom Ganon manages to prove more than a match for the poor teamwork and co-ordination that Sheik, Raynard and even Link display. By picking off the two weaker warriors the devious phantasm hopes to lower the allies' fighting strength by one of the oldest tactics in the book; divide and conquer.

In spite of this however, the poor echoed warlock cannot plan for the appearance of the hateful second side of Link; the demonic Kage Narumono. Although the match soon evens out between them for a time, Kage manages to overturn it completely and utterly with a mere raise in his meteoric-like Aegir. Although successful, the demonic champion soon finds himself reverting just as quickly however when the Great Deku Tree's last trump card reveals itself.

Navi, the fairy.

In washing her calming blue light over his hellfire rage she not only saves the lives of Sheik and Raynard but perhaps her own as well.

His consciousness very slowly regaining, the re-awakened and re-invigorated Hero of Time at last finds himself in a reunion with his closest friend...

\--

Scene 1

Gloop...

Again, the sound of water splashing around him reverberated across the walls of the area he seemed to reside in.

Glup...

"Link..."

The sound of a dull hum echoed on in the bright white space that the green-garbed youth inhabited. When, at last, the whiteness began to dissipate alongside his grogginess, the listening Hero of Time realised where he was.

Chamber of the Sages.

At long last the familiar sight of his oldest companion standing before him was like the most beautiful oasis in the harshest of deserts.

Link held back the urge to leap over the small island he stood in the centre and hug the smiling Saria.

"S-Saria..." The youth managed to breathe out his tone bewildered, almost as if unable to believe it. A smile very slowly graced his complexion. "You don't know how long I've-"

"Thank you...," she cut into him, surprising him a second time; with a light blink, Link merely dropped his smile in favour of an unsure frown. "Thanks to you... I was able to awaken."

Link's eyebrows rose in recognition as she spoke.

Awaken, he thought.

That sounds frighteningly similar to what Rauru told me earlier in the Temple of Time.

Perhaps reading his very thoughts, the little emerald-haired Kokiri girl at last gave voice. "I am Saria... Sage of the divine Forest Temple."

"B-But-" Link began, sky-blue eyes widening in his reply. "I-!"

"I always believed you would come for me...," she claimed, interrupting him once more. In spite of her doing so, Link could only stare back wordlessly, his mouth hung open in display of his shock. "Because I know you... I raised you...," Saria reiterated in her melancholic smile, tilting her head ever so slightly as she spoke. "And I..."

Her soft voice, trailing off at the end of her similarly indecisive sentence, left the listening Link wide-eyed and realising the meaning of her words.

She feels the same way I do, he thought.

Or used to.

Again, she appeared to know just how he ruminated for she shook her head very softly in her demure and sad smile.

"No...," she restarted. "You don't have to explain it to me... it's destiny that keeps us apart," she explained in an emphatic slow shake of her green-haired head. "Link... I know how angry you are with Zelda... and Rauru... you have every right to be."

Realising exactly what she was referring to, the listening Hero of Time found his initially sad frown very gradually morphing into a bitter one; his lips being pulled back in emphasis as if in full display of his disgust.

"I need you Link; this country's princess needs you," Saria pleaded tenderly, her hands joined at her chest. Link's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he listened. "Please... help us."

"This country's princess can go to hell for all I care," he spat back venomously and bitterly, lowering his blonde head in a scowl as he did so. "She used me; I'm not gonna let her take advantage of me like that anymore." He elaborated on in a hardened and angry tone of voice. Though she flinched in response, Saria soldiered on regardless.

"Then... if not for her..."

Link's brow furrowed when he began to comprehend the direction where she was taking this in.

And he didn't like it.

"Saria... you can't be serious..."

"Things are bad out there now Link...," she responded, a sad frown adorned on her comely complexion. She wore a similar kind of expression to the last day he saw her; that fateful day on the Lost Woods' bridge. "It's not like when we were kids..."

Link sighed audibly as he briefly shut his eyes in a frustrated frown. "I know Saria... I get that, but..."

"Ganondorf's reign has been absolute these past seven years," the little Kokiri claimed, her tone as low as the morale she spoke of. "Now that you're here... you're the only one that even stands a chance against-"

"No!" Link called out in interruption, his tone irritated and frustrated. "Trust me...," he continued on eyes narrowing as he relaxed his firm stance by lowering his eyes to the ground, as if in disappointment. "I've tried that route..." He finished in a pained mutter, the sting of his horrible defeat on Hyrule Field still fresh in his mind.

"But you're stronger now...," Saria countered, furrowing her own brow as she leaned her body forward on the platform she stood on. "You're not the little boy I raised anymore; you're the Hero of Time," the Kokiri whispered out, this time in a light smile. "That's got to count for something... right?"

Though he disagreed with her, Link opted to keep his response to himself and turned his eyes away from hers in a silent frown.

"Please, Link... as a last request..."

"'Last request...?'" Link repeated curiously, re-turning his head to face hers inquisitively. "You mean...?"

She nodded sombrely. "This... will be the last time I get to see you," the small Kokiri managed out, her voice half-breaking in tone as she spoke. "Now that I'm the Forest Sage... I have to stay here... and perform my duties."

A puncturing mixture of betrayal, hurt and horror washed over his bewildered form as he stared back at her.

In spite of his surprise, he should have seen it coming.

When he had met with Rauru the Light Sage had explained this very phenomenon.

Her lower lip trembled as she faced him, a saddened frown adorned on her face. "Link...," she started, audibly sniffling mid-speech. "I will... always love you..."

Unable to find the words with which to respond to the one person he trusted above all else, Link could only stare back in a permanently horrified frown.

"Make sure you get enough sleep...," she mothered over him in a chuckling smile, as if attempting to switch the gloomy atmosphere. "And don't forget to wash yourself every day... okay?"

"S-Saria... no..." Link mouthed out his voice low, whispering and terrified at the prospect of what was inevitably coming.

"I'll miss you...," the little Kokiri girl managed out, her voice breaking as she raised her hands skyward. His eyes narrowed, Link traced the skyline to find a shining item high above them. "Goodbye... Link..."

"No, Saria wait!"

In spite of his abruptly distressed tone and attempt to leap over to his companion, the same milky whiteness that covered his vision when he finished up with Rauru afflicted him now.

FLASH-SHIIIING

The sight of a green coin-shaped medallion descending down to meet him was the last thing he saw.

"I will always be... your friend..."

~

As the obstruction that was the inky abyss eventually faded, Link at last found himself in a place he recognised; the shining sound of the light-blue warp had taken him into the heart of Kokiri Forest. Indeed, the youth now found himself directly opposite the greyed out form of the once magnificent Great Deku Tree. Sensing the forms of his comrades Sheik and Raynard to his two sides he briefly acknowledged the two young men before re-turning his face forward. His morale still at a heightened low however the young Link soon dropped himself to one knee, a scowl twitching away in an unhealthy mixture of hurt and anger.

The sting of betrayal was left deep within him, like the magical scar Ganondorf gifted him with seven years back.

"What the hell?" Raynard muttered out in a questioning blink, sweeping his re-invigorated eyes across the grassy landscape. "Weren't we in-?"

"The Forest Temple...," Sheik finished for him, fiery eye narrowed in agreement before swiftly resting on the kneeling Hero of Time. "Link what happened?"

"S-Saria...," he merely stammered back, a whispering tone to his breaking voice. "S-She told me..."

The bright blue sight of Navi hovering up to shake her head at the watching Sheik made it somewhat clear.

"So... Saria was the..." Sheik murmured on out in slow realisation, his hot-crimson eye lowering, as if in thought.

"The what?" The foul-mouthed Raynard shot back cluelessly, frowning in an annoyed expression of his own. "What the hell is going-?"

CRUMPLE-FRUP

Gasping with shock and astonishment, the three young men snapped their heads toward the source of the sudden noise and movement only to find a plant-like creature shooting up from the grass beneath them. Having been kneeling just opposite of it and closest in position to it, Link found himself similarly wheezing with consternation as he fell backward rather unceremoniously to his rear. Kneeling down on his own level to join him, as if for support, the narrow-eyed Sheik glared on down at the oddly-formed sprout before them.

It appeared to be a kind of plant-like creature, similar to many seen in the Kokiri Forest.

"Hi there!"

Surprised even further, the three men comically exchanged looks with one another as if to question their very own sanity. Seemingly sensing their inward thoughts, the sprout's eyes briefly shut before chuckling as it continued, a higher-pitched kind of male-like voice.

"It's okay," the dismissed the team of men's bewilderment in a well-meaning laugh. "I'm sure you all must have many questions for me."

"Can say that again..." The listening Raynard muttered on out in his narrow-eyed folded-armed expression.

"You all did your best to help us... we of the Kokiri Forest cannot thank you enough," the unnamed sprout smiled at the three before it. "Thanks to your efforts... the evil energy that Ganondorf breathed into our sacred woodland has been banished."

"We're glad... to have helped." Sheik responded, exchanging a frowning nod with the silent Raynard.

"And it is you that the Kokiri Forest have much to thank for most of all, Link," the plant-like creature smiled on in the blonde's direction; narrowing his oceanic eyes he re-raised his head up from his earlier melancholy to stare back at it. "I am the successor to your old mentor... the Great Deku Tree and thanks to you I can grow and flourish!" He announced warmly, a happy tone to his voice.

Similarly smiling behind the white scarf he wore, Sheik turned his fiery eye down on his comrade below him. "Isn't that wonderful Link?" He asked, placing a hand on the youth's shoulder.

In spite of this friendly atmosphere, Link found himself filled with a growing sense of anger as he listened; shaking the Sheikah leader's hand off of his shoulder he glared on quietly back at the Deku Sprout.

"Did you all know that this was going to happen?"

His enquiry, so off putting and startling, managed to take the listening group off guard.

"Well of course Link; now that you've lifted the curse off of-"

"No."

His interruption, biting and venomous, cut through the Deku Sprout's words.

"Did you know about Saria?" He pressed, eyes narrowing once more.

"W-Well...," the sprout started, its voice less sure of itself. "Of course; if she hadn't awoken as a Sage then-"

TMP

In standing up abruptly, the firm-formed youth managed to intensify the already confrontational air in his sudden movement.

"So the end justifies the means does it?" Link shot over in a hard-glaring glower. "It's fine to lie to someone if it means you're getting what you want."

The frowning Navi began to hover nearby, a concerned tone in her voice. "Link they didn't lie to us, they-"

Swiftly silencing the floating fairy with a swivelling scowl, Link re-faced his partner very briefly before soon about-turning to continue on.

"Lying to us... and keeping important information from us...," he began once more in a hushed angry whisper. "Are very similar things, Navi..."

"Hey; enough of this," the disgruntled Raynard shot out with as he advanced on his comrade. Placing a muscled hand on the swordsman's right shoulder he frowned on in his approach. "Job's not over."

"Get your hand... off me... Raynard..."

His voice, hissing and furious, made the listening dark-haired mercenary furrow his brow in listening. Unperturbed but exchanging a silent nod with the watching Sheik Raynard chose to obey his shaky companion's order.

"Link... I know you must be feeling-"

"Manipulated?" The angry youth interrupted the Deku Sprout once more, eyes glaring down at the wooden creature beneath him. "Used? Exploited?"

"Yes...," the sprout acquiesced, a calm tone in its patient voice. "We're sorry but we needed your help Link," he claimed, a concerned shift in its pitch. "Please... you have to understand..."

Narrowing his eyes in a glare, the former Kokiri growled in voiceless anger. Readying to about-turn to leave, Link made a disgusted turn of his scowl before at last turning around.

"I also have more to tell you... if you will listen."

Halting mid-speech, the hard-eyed Link stood at the foot of the small hill that led back to the hub of Kokiri Forest. Turning his straw-haired head back to face the group staring back at him he merely watched back as if to signify his response.

"In spite of all the years you have spent living in this safe haven...," the Deku Sprout started one last time, its voice firm. "You are, as you have probably now deduced, not a Kokiri; not by blood anyway."

His curiosity piqued, the Hero of Time turned the rest of his body 'round as he listened silently.

"You...," the sprout began its final sentence in a well-meaning smile. "Are a Hylian."

–

2

"Any response from king tyrant?" The firmly-frowning Raynard questioned next to his Sheikah commander, his buffed arms ever folded.

"No; we have been very fortunate so far," Sheik answered in a deft shake of his blonde head, his bandaged arms resting across the large table in the centre of the candlelit room. "Of all the men we routed in the Lost Woods it would appear that Ganondorf has sent no more."

"That's odd," the frowning tone of Navi added into the conversation, hovering over the map of Hyrule. "Wouldn't he want to recapture it as soon as possible?"

"Mm, not necessarily," Raynard responded, a light crease to his frown as he eyed the blue ball of light. "He might just not be interested; it's a place that's been undisturbed for years anyway."

"Quite so," Sheik agreed, a nod to back his words. "I imagine he'll have his hands full in the subjugation of the Gorons at any rate."

His small pointed ears drawn up by the inclusion of the word he recognised, Link narrowed his eyes from his corner in the room. Leaning his head up from his folded-armed frown he opened his mouth.

"How are they?"

Surprised, Sheik and Raynard swivelled around to face him; silent for a moment or two, they shared a pensive look before finally responding.

"Last my scouts reported they're not looking too good," Sheik informed him, a frowning shake of his head. "Ganondorf's men have already invaded by the looks of things; we've lost all contact so we can only assume the worst."

Lowering his oceanic eyes, Link sighed through his nose. "Darunia..." He mouthed out quietly and thoughtfully. Although the listening Raynard rose a curious eyebrow at the mention of the Goron chief's name, Sheik nodded once more in his inevitable response.

"Yes...," the Sheikah assassin and commanding officer began. "We're working against time; the longer we take the more Goron men are killed."

"He's killing them already?!" Raynard hissed out incredulously, amber eyes widened.

"It's all an effort to draw Daphnes' daughter out of hiding," the mysterious blonde claimed, his hot-red eye narrowing. "Especially now that the Hero of Time is with us." He stated; in listening, Raynard turned briefly to eye his new companion wordlessly. Although he acknowledged the duo before him, Link opted merely to turn his eyes away from them.

After last time he had very little else to say to them.

So long as it didn't involve work.

Leaning off the wall Link dusted himself off and made certain to check he was carrying all of his equipment, a firm frown on his face. Curious, Sheik double-took in his direction, raising a curious straw-haired eyebrow.

"What are you-?"

"Time's of the essence, right? Just like you said," Link interrupted with a cutting solid frown. "I'm going to make way for Death Mountain now."

"Wait for us," Sheik ordered him, a firm narrow of his eye. Though Link turned his frown into a light scowl of disapproving, he opted not to respond vocally. "There's little advantage in arriving one after the other."

~

"Are you okay?"

A loaded question.

Navi's enquiry, surely a genuine one, began to grate on the listening Link's nerves; heading the charge he marched on up the inclines and hills of the Death Mountain trail he had once traversed seven years previous, many things going through his mind.

Mainly the low morale and his greatly growing distrust of his allies.

"I'm as okay as 'okay' can be Navi," Link batted back to his guardian fairy as he climbed on up the initial hill before him; eyeing the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern he stepped on through the second incline leading in the opposite direction. "In the space of a single day I've just learned my whole life is a fucking lie," he cursed out violently and shockingly casually as if he were speaking of anything else entirely. "The one person I fought so hard to free turned out to be a prisoner of these Sages," the Hero of Time hissed on as he thought of the seemingly wise Rauru. "And on top of it all not even the Great Deku Tree trusted me...," he claimed, shaking his head before narrowing his eyes in her direction. "Did he?" He asked her, almost as if for confirmation.

The memory of their conversation with the Deku Tree Sprout came to his mind as he spoke; as Navi listened she visibly turned her eyes away from his, perhaps in shame.

"He assigned me to you to protect you Link," she re-explained softly as the duo of adventurers continued on up the hill. "He always loved you-"

"He can suffer in the afterlife for all I care."

His venomous breach, so cold and full of hatred for the deceased forest spirit, left the listening Navi in a sorrowful frown.

"I wish I could have met Zelda again... just once," Link continued to rant, his eyes narrowing as he stepped around a large silvery boulder. "I'd-"

"You wouldn't surely?"

"Not a woman, no," Link answered her in an emphatic swing of his head. "But I'd love to hurt her emotionally for everything she's done to me," the former Kokiri admitted, a petty rage forming the tone of his voice. "If I'd known how things were gonna go when she asked me what she asked me seven years ago..."

Opting to remain silent for fear of response Navi merely listened to him, a knowing and saddened frown on her face.

"Saria...," Link murmured out nostalgically, eyes narrowed as he pressed on past the flowing red flag to his left. "If she hadn't asked me... then I would have left the rebellion." He confessed with a hardened shake of his blonde head.

The rest of the march to Goron City in the heart of Death Mountain was a silent one indeed; even as Raynard and Sheik followed from a respectable distance back, they merely conversed quietly with one another, keeping themselves away from the unsociable Hero of Time.

–

3

In stepping through to the mountainous city the group of four found themselves in a familiar spot indeed; recognising the nylon rope leading out to the platform in the centre, Link realised exactly where they were.

Memories of walking through the double-doors that Barkner once led him through in his childhood came rushing back to him, lowering his mood and morale even further.

He shook his head unrelentingly, glaring forward as he did.

"Stop thinking about that."

"Well...," Raynard started, his arms folded as he entered alongside the deeply frowning Link. Scanning his own amber eyes across the dark-brown of the Goron metropolis he took quick note of the population. "Looks as if your intel was right Sheik," the mercenary claimed in his hard-toned frown. "Doesn't look like there's many left."

Maybe none, Link thought to himself silently as he stepped toward the edge eyes watching.

"No I'm sure that-"

CRASH

The smashing echo, so boisterous and meaty, managed to take the group of men and guardian fairy off guard; turning their heads 'round to the bottom of the city they found the source of the commotion.

A solitary, small rolling Goron was left amidst the ghost town that was Goron City.

"Ah! There he is!" Sheik smiled in recognition, stepping past the surprised-expressed Link and Raynard; following him down the steps to the first floor the group of heroes eventually stepped closer to the slow-approaching Goron. "Link!"

"Yeah?" The named Hylian in response rose a blonde eyebrow next to him.

"Not you," Sheik answered, a deft shake of his head. "Him." He clarified with an appropriate nod of his head forward.

Seemingly gesturing toward the halting Goron, the shocked Link and Navi exchanged a similar surprised look with one another. Soon uncurling himself before them the little Goron rose up his head, as if being addressed; standing up to face the group he stood in a modestly-sized frown, eyes darting between the watching Raynard and Link.

"It's all right Link," Sheik spoke, his words seemingly directed toward the wary-expressed Goron. "They're friends; here to help."

Although still appearing to distrust the two strangers before him, the little Goron nodded in acknowledgement before at last opening his mouth.

"P-Pleased to meet you both...," he greeted, seemingly a young boy. "My name is Link."

"Your name is Link?" The Hero of Time blurted out without thinking, scrunching the right side of his face up as if attempting to process the conflicting information he was just fed. Visibly frustrated by the events transpiring the watching Sheik shut his eyes and sighed quietly through his nose, as if in some silent search for patience.

"Y-Yes...," the Goron answered for the irked Sheikah, nodding in his modest frown. "My Dad... he's the one who named me," he explained briefly. "The chief of the Gorons and our Big Brother."

"Darunia..." Navi's soft whisper came from the ex-Kokiri's left ear.

A chill ran up the youth's spine when he realised it.

He was silently hoping to avoid the Goron leader but now with this connection it may be impossible.

"Yeah...," the Hero of Time acknowledged in a forward nod of his own, creasing his frown lightly as he spoke. "I remember him... how is he?" He asked, his frown very slowly morphing into a weak smile.

The identically-named Goron's saddened frown told the Hylian a different story however; in shaking his rocky head, Link responded. "H-He and I... we may be the only Gorons left."

"What?!" Sheik hissed out, his fiery eye widened. "Where is everyone else?"

"T-Taken...," Goron Link hiccuped back, joining his hands together demurely. "That king sent his men to take our families... he's keeping them all in the Fire Temple!"

"That fits..." The listening Hero of Time muttered under his breath, lowering his sky-blue eyes as he did so.

"A-And that's not all," the distressed little Goron continued, shaking his head. "The dragon from ancient times has come back!" He shouted out, a terrified tone in his voice. "The one from the storybooks!"

"Volvagia...," Sheik sighed, briefly shutting his eyes in acceptance before softly running his bandaged thumb across his covered nose. "Ganondorf must be going to feed them to the dragon."

"It's a message... isn't it," Link asked, narrowing his oceanic eyes at his leader, receiving only a nod. "Anyone else that doesn't follow suit... will receive the same treatment."

"For Christ sake...," Raynard cursed out in a narrow-eyed hiss. "Man's a fucking animal..."

"Don't worry, Link..."

The worried little Goron widened his tearful eyes and stopped mid-sob to turn his head up to face the kneeling Sheikah above him. Placing one of his bandaged arms across the boy's shoulders he smiled through the clothes he wore.

"We'll rescue your father and all of your friends too." The resistance's leader spoke through his smiling tone, receiving an approving and cheerful nod in response.

The listening Hero of Time found himself exchanging an annoyed frown with the silent Raynard.

~

Circling his arms 'round in an attempt to return the blood flow to normal, Link winced in the new clothing he wore.

Having been gifted a new Goron Tunic by his unit's leader, the young Hylian was now resistant to the harsh atmosphere of the Death Mountain Crater he now explored through with his allies.

"It's over there...," Darunia's only son frowned as he pointed toward the broken pillars far-off into the distance. Standing just outside of the entrance to Goron City's throne room Sheik, Link, Raynard, Navi and the little Goron Link all stood close-by to the broken bridge overlooking the pit of boiling lava. "Dad went into that corridor..."

"Thank you, Link...," Sheik smiled down to the little Goron in an acknowledging nod. "You should go and wait for us in the city," he advised. "We'll return as soon as we find your father; I promise."

With a single and simple nod, the frowning little Goron at last about-turned to leave back the way he came, leaving the four allies alone once more.

"How much longer until we get inside?" Navi broke the silence in a wincing whimper. "This atmosphere... it's so oppressive."

"We still need to open the Fire Temple's doors... come on." Sheik informed the group as he acrobatically leapt across the distance, landing safely on the bridge's remaining ground. Following him wordlessly, the glaring Raynard leapt on forward with him, leaving the similarly frowning Link to hookshot on after him. Even as he marched on behind the two, the newly christened Hylian found his eyes moving in the direction of the familiar-looking podium to his right.

A similar stone-like design to the last one he remembered from the Sacred Forest Meadow.

They were definitely on the right track.

"It's something that grows over time..."

Surprised, the silent Link and Raynard swivelled their heads in their blonde leader's direction, his words cutting into the boiling air they walked through.

"True friendship...," Sheik murmured out, his gaze seemingly dreamlike; turning around to face the approaching pair behind him, the Sheikah frowned on behind the scarf he wore so well. "A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger in the years to come..."

Somehow, as he listened to him, Link felt that he was talking very personally in some regard.

It felt odd.

Odd... and strangely familiar.

"That passion can soon blossom into righteous power... if you let it," the young red-eyed man nodded forward, seemingly speaking to the listening Hero of Time. "And, through it, you'll know which way to go..."

Reaching back into his inventory, Link sensed where the conversation was heading. Nodding once more, Sheik seemingly silently approved.

"This song... is dedicated to the heart; listen... to the Bolero of Fire."

–

4

Even when they stepped inside the Fire Temple that they so envied for comfort, the group of heroes found no respite in terms of the temperature; still boiling hot they dealt with the near uninhabitable atmosphere as best they could. In stepping through Link took quick note of the large staircase laid out before him, decorated quite religiously with the apparent totem-like structures filled with fire up ahead. On the right and left behind the staircases however sat two large doors, one seemingly hidden beneath a tall edifice.

"Okay...," Sheik began, narrowing his fiery eye up at the similarly boiling-hot Keese flying overhead. "Now... I was hoping on a different course of action this-"

Stepping forward Link opted to interrupt the Sheikah, a hardened tone in his actions indeed; surprised, Sheik and Raynard both exchanged a look before turning to look over at the marching ex-Kokiri.

"Link I was hoping that we-"

"Same plan as before," the scorn youth spoke over his shoulder, seemingly as angry as ever. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"But Link, I'd rather-"

"I'll be fine," the Hero of Time firmly shot over his shoulder a second time, this time swivelling his head 'round to glare back at his leader with one oceanic eye narrowed. "Navi's with me, after all." He further clarified before pressing onward up the staircase. Although the watching Raynard merely huffed in his folded-armed glare, his dark-haired head tilted to the side, the listening Sheik watched on in a sad turn of his blood-red eye.


	28. Betrayal and Paranoia

Chapter 28: Betrayal and Paranoia  
Answering the Sworn Oath Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.

\--

With the frightening power and speed of one who possesses the divine Aegir of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai, Link manages to overcome the great power Phantom Ganon commands in the Forest Temple but only with the assistance of his demonic second side; the villain, Kage Narumono. In spite of this glorious victory, having saved the lives of all three of his comrades, Link soon realises he is forced to give one up; the one person he has loved since his days of childhood. In learning of her destiny to serve as divine Forest Sage, Link's distrust and animosity for the rebellion and even princess Zelda grows by the minute.

At least in their bittersweet victory however, the group of heroes manage to at last turn the harsh tide of war; in cleansing the deep forest of the Kokiri, Link and his comrades manage to embolden the dispirited men and women of Hyrule. Having successfully snatched a triumph over the seven-year long king Ganondorf however, their efforts at last receive his full attention. As a message to other races in the country he sends in his men to overpower and kidnap the Goron race in Death Mountain.

With assistance from his right hand Scaverin, the warlock manages to revive the ancient subterranean lava dragon Volvagia. In keeping with his merciless reign and rule Ganondorf threatens the very lives of the Gorons by promising to feed each and every one of them to the fearsome dragon in the hopes of intimidating them and other peoples within the country. Although the Gorons are a hardy race of people they are overpowered by the sheer number of military men that Hyrule's king commands.

Hoping to free his people Darunia, Big Brother and chief to his Goron race, sets out alone to the divine Fire Temple. Although he manages to save his only son, a boy named after the Hero of Time himself, he has lost all contact with the outside world and is now presumed missing-in-action. Tracking him down Sheik, Raynard, Link and Navi all meet with the Goron chief's son and are directed to him.

In spite of being thankful in the knowledge that Darunia was last seen alive, Link cannot help but feel a guilty sense of apprehension; his former involvement in the death of the chief's right hand man weighs his conscience down like an anchor on a ship. Although it was merely Kage Narumono that murdered Barkner and snuffed out his life, the shame in his part however small would no doubt cause a huge rift and he knows it.

With all this deep deliberation, Link presses on in his quest to follow Saria's last wishes...

\--

Scene 1

"So... he managed to beat it anyway... hm...?"

Scaverin listened in from his position next to his monarch, watching the murmuring man's left fingers drum carefully on the throne's arm-rest. A small grin grew on the fierce-looking canines Ganondorf carried as he re-opened his mouth to speak once more.

"It's been so long since we've received any adequate challenge...," the flame-haired king grinned on through the fist he used to rest his head on, his elbow on the arm-rest. "I hardly know how to react..."

Opting again to remain silent and wary, Scaverin merely frowned back.

He had fallen for this trap before.

At last hovering his yellow-like eyes 'round to the summoner on his left, Ganondorf narrowed them.

"How did you find them... Scaverin?" The Gerudian king finally addressed him, curious in his firm-eyed glare.

"Relatively... powerful," the cloaked man spoke slowly, as if making effort to think back to his engagement. "I only ever did face off against two of them though."

"Ah... our rat and their leader, hm?"

"Indeed," Scaverin confirmed in a frowning nod. "I believe their Hero of Time was engaged in another battle at the time."

"Yes...," Ganondorf mused quietly, re-hovering his amber eyes forward with a hardened scowl on his face. "A 'hero'... without a cause..."

Furrowing his brow thoughtfully and curiously, Scaverin listened intently. "My lord...?"

"You saw that, didn't you?" Ganondorf batted back to the formerly religious man. "Same as I did...," he murmured out, re-narrowing his eyes forward. "That boy changed during the fight."

"Ah...," the listening cloaked warrior nodded. "Yes..."

"The Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai...," Hyrule's king began passionately. "A power said to heighten those to satanic levels..."

Merely quieting himself, the cloaked schemer narrowed his eyes similarly as he listened.

"I believe it, Scaverin...," Ganondorf addressed a second time and with a malicious chuckle upon his dark-green lips. "As young as he is... he may very well be approaching even the biblical power of the Sainted Three...!" The Gerudian man hissed out in a hushed whisper, raising his right twitching fist from the side of his face to shake in a mixture of excitement and fierceness.

"How should we deal with them your majesty?" Scaverin questioned eagerly, frowning in a business-like expression. "They're already approaching the Fire Temple..."

"We'll let them infiltrate it for now...," the listening country's monarch responded, lowering his fist as he eyed his strategist with a light grin. Turning his gaze forward once more he narrowed it to thin slits. "I'm anxious to see how the boy deals with Volvagia..."

~

"Who's there?!"

The voice that bounced so emphatically and so masculine in tone could only be one that the listening Link recognised; having stepped through one of the Fire Temple's many doors he stood far-off face-to-face with a familiar man indeed.

The wide-eyed bearded form of Darunia stood opposite in facing to what appeared to be a very important doorway indeed; locked with a golden key and all.

"... Link...?" Darunia whispered, his brow furrowing as if unable to believe his very eyes. In spite of all the misgivings Link had for the rest of his allies he couldn't help but grow a weak smile in recognition for his companion of old.

"Darunia...," he gasped back in a light friendly laugh, stepping toward the platform's edge. "It's... been a while."

"Yes... seven years, my old friend," the Goron chief smiled. "To think that you would come to aid us just as you had done back then..." He trailed off, wiping a tear of appreciation.

Despite his friend's good mood and tone to match Link's guilty mind couldn't help but wander back to his unintentional killing of Barkner.

I almost wish I hadn't met back up with Darunia to avoid this, he thought worriedly.

"It's nice to see you my friend but I have very little time to catch up with you," the Goron chief talked on, re-catching the blinking youth's attention. "These seven years have been an oppressive one from the man you call 'Ganondorf'...," he claimed on in his hard-eyed glare. "Somehow he has resurrected the ancient dragon of legend; Volvagia!"

Widening his oceanic eyes as he listened, Link held back a gasp.

Sheik was right.

"On top of all that he's going to feed my people to that damn thing as a warning to other races that resist his reign...," Darunia muttered out, briefly lowering his eyes in his angry glower. "If that raging lizard escapes from this mountain, all of Hyrule will become a burning wasteland!"

Link couldn't help but wince as he listened.

"I have to do something...," the Goron's leader continued on as he clenched the fingers in his left fist passionately. "Even if it's a suicide mission I must do what I can to save my people!"

"N-No... Darunia..." Link whispered out, eyes widened; a similar kind of terror began to creep at the boy's nerves.

The same kind of terror he felt when last speaking to Saria.

"If you could just rescue my men... that's all I ask brother," Darunia spoke softly, a similarly smooth smile upon his face. "You've been a great friend to me... it is time I pay this debt back to you."

"Darunia no!" Link countered angrily, narrowing his eyes forward. "This is no answer!" The Hero of Time added, similarly clenching a fist to emphasise his words. "These Gorons; they need you!"

"I understand that Link...," Darunia shook his head back. "But who else will confront that monstrous beast if not me?"

"Why do it alone?" Link shot back before raising up his left hand, leaning the rest of his body to his side as he did. "When we can do it together?" He finished in a narrow-eyed whisper, frowning on in his serious look. Surprised Darunia eyed the Hero of Time before him, his eyes darting in the youth's open hand before slowly growing a light smile.

–

2

Raynard grunted as he spun his halberd expertly across the blaring-hot air, savagely tearing apart the screeching Fire Keese.

"Damn bats...," he muttered out, annoyance weighing down his tone to match the heavy atmosphere of the volcanic-like dungeon. He stood opposite the frowning Sheik atop the dark-brown planked bridge they crossed over. Wiping an arm across his forehead, the dark-haired mercenary gasped through the abominable heat. "I don't know how much longer I can last in this heat..."

"You'll have to put up or shut up," Sheik ordered snappily over his shoulder as he spun his knife 'round his right fingers expertly before about-turning to continue forward across the bridge. "We don't have much choice."

"Tch..." Raynard merely grunted back, an annoyed scowl creasing the folds of his face. Accepting his commander's directives however, the ebony-haired youth followed on suite behind the Sheikah. Reaching past the two stone posts at the end of the crossing the duo of freedom fighters stepped on through the ensuing door ahead.

And widened their eyes when they entered.

WHOOSH

Along with the sudden blast of flames amidst the growing chaos that was the platform filled with fire came the echoing sound of laughter of all things; the listening Sheik and Raynard could only watch in shocked expressions at the sight before them.

A humanoid-like form spun almost endlessly in place within the forcefield of flame before at last side-flipping onto the confined arena in which the two resided in.

Oh no, Sheik thought.

It was waiting for them.

"What the hell is that?!" Raynard gasped out, his brow furrowing forward as he readied his halberd at their new opponent.

Seemingly human-shaped, all of its limbs bar its torso were of a burning nature; indeed, the god-like flame that it displayed so heavenly began to brighten even further as it started to spin in place, a kind of devil-like Aegir in its body.

"It... looks like a Flare Dancer...," Sheik murmured out in his narrow-eyed glare, fingering his knife protectively. "Don't get too close to it!"

"Don't have to tell me twice..." The listening mercenary muttered out as he briefly eyed his commanding officer, both hands gripping the hilt of his weapon.

Almost as if sensing the pair's intentions however the Flare Dancer shot out numerous smaller spheres of flame as it spun about in place, in an attempt to hit the duo.

"Scatter!"

Obeying the apprehensive order, Raynard narrowed his eyes a second time as he leapt abruptly in evasion to his left. Skidding across the dark-tan brick ground he just barely managed to avoid one of the many orbs of fire that came flitting on after him. When he recovered however the young survivor double-took to his front only to find the Flare Dancer hot in pursuit directly ahead of him.

"Raynard!"

In spite of Sheik's fearful call the young soldier could only stare in a mixture of horror and fatalism; with his amber eyes widened he at least attempted to bring up his halberd to block the inevitable charge.

SMASH

Grunting, he was sent spinning through the air until he finally landed inside the wall behind him, seemingly taken out of action. Growling as he watched from the wall he stuck to in his acrobatics Sheik turned his similarly blazing eye in pursuit of the fast-approaching Flare Dancer. Readying some extra throwing knives laced with water-elemental Aegir, he grunted as he tossed them forward in his enemy's passing.

The knives made a noisy grinding echo as they made direct contact with the Flare Dancer's projectile flames, cancelling them out. As his enemy crossed the distance from the safely-sticking Sheikah, Sheik found himself glaring on after the gliding Flare Dancer almost finding it grinning behind the flame armour it wore so well.

Water clearly was not the answer in spite of his initial suspicions.

But what about fire itself?

Specifically an explosion so blazingly hot that it would overtake the Flare Dancer's flames.

With that in mind, Sheik pushed off the wall he rested on to land back on the ground he once stood; working very quickly, he placed a Quintessence-activated mine before back-flipping with great agility to his safe spot on the wall. Watching the Flare Dancer glide across the battle arena he readied his normally sharp senses; finding it approaching quickly as he had surmised earlier the Sheikah widened his one visible eye.

"Now!"

Raising up his right hand he narrowed his eye forward as he lifted only his index and forefinger upward; an activation of the Aegir resting inside the cleverly disguised ground. Seemingly realising its mistake, but far too late to react, the Flare Dancer audibly gasped and attempted to alter its gliding arc before it came too close.

DROOM

In a pained demonic growl, the Flare Dancer found itself stripped of its satanic clothing and only its torso remained; merely bobbing down harmlessly, the little form that was left was a direct contrast to its formerly terrifying shape. Seemingly having recovered from his earlier injury, the dark-haired Raynard grunted as he leapt up in an acrobatic forward-flip; his halberd sung a song of violent steel as he somersaulted in pursuit.

SMASH-SKRRRR-SQUELCH

With an agonised echoing screech, the naked Flare Dancer was surprisingly easily cut up by the savage spinning slash that Raynard employed; as it groaned from the pain it slowly began to expand in size. Oddly, the watching mercenary was captivated by it as if unable to move.

"Move Raynard!" Sheik called over, his eye widened behind his golden locks.

Finally gasping to action, the listening youth pushed in a swift back-dash. Skidding across the ground he rose up his halberd diagonally to assist in deflecting some of the wind that kicked up as a result of the inevitable explosion. Breathing a sigh of relief as he watched, the slow smiling Sheik showed off an approving nod before dropping himself down to ground level.

At least no-one suffered anything too debilitating, the Sheikah thought to himself gratefully.

~

Stepping through the door after the firmly-frowning Darunia Link swept his oceanic eyes across their new surroundings.

"Brothers!"

The deep voice of his companion made the listening blonde blink in his direction; finding him abruptly rushing toward the room's oddly large end.

"Darunia wait!" Link called on after him, reaching forward with his hand in an attempt to stop him. Finding the room more suited to being one huge prison than anything else he caught the sight of what appeared to be perhaps around twenty or so trapped within the gargantuan cage before him. Narrowing his eyes he watched Darunia quickly approach the cage door and opened his mouth to continue. "Something's not right about this..."

"I sense it too." Navi nodded in quiet agreement, a similarly anxious tone in her voice.

Reaching toward the cage with his burly arms, Darunia smiled as he began to approach the large prison. "It is so good to see you all again," he greeted at the shocked faces of the Gorons all resting inside. "I was worried you'd be-"

"Big Brother; behind-!"

Widening his dark-brown eyes, the muscled mass of a man swiftly leapt to his right in evasion, barely avoiding the flying throwing knives directed toward him. Skidding across the ground safely to land next to his companion of old, Darunia rose himself back to his feet in a hard-eyed glare to stare at the source of the interruption.

A relatively average-height man stood looming his cloaked shadow over them, seemingly the culprit. When he pulled down the darkened hood he wore Link couldn't help but stare in a shocked revelation at the resulting figure before him.

The firmly-frowning form of the former bishop that was Scaverin.

The right-hand to Hyrule's new monarch.

"I... remember you...," Link began cautiously, his fingers itching for the Master Sword resting across his back. The watching devout merely huffed back; a light twitch to the frown he wore so well. "Jabu... Jabu..."

"You know this man?" Darunia questioned, raising up his bushy eyebrows in a display of surprise.

"He's... dangerous," Navi answered from her charge's side in between the pair, keeping her eye carefully fixated on their new enemy. "Former man of the Hylian military..."

Narrowing his eyes at the figure as she spoke, the listening Darunia appeared to somewhat recognise the standing Scaverin. "You..."

Raising a dark-brown eyebrow the watching Scaverin opened his mouth. "Oh?"

"You're the one that gave the Gerudian forces that information...," he whispered out, brow furrowing in seeming realisation. "The information that led Daphnes to his downfall..."

Responding with a simple low-toned laugh within his throat, Scaverin re-opened his mouth to elaborate. "I cannot quite take all that credit... if it wasn't for God's planning... the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis would still be standing."

"God?" Link parroted, batting the question back with a narrow of his own sky-blue eyes.

"Your king of course," Scaverin shot back, a knowing grin on his lips. "My lord Ganondorf."

"Pathetic...," Darunia hissed over, disgusted. "Do you realise how many lives were lost that day?"

"A necessary evil...," Scaverin replied, his sharp smile soon sliding into a slithering scowl. "Just as this is...," he finished his sentence by raising up his right arm; pulsating with turquoise-blue Aegir it began to glow as he slowly outstretched it forward, palm facing the ground. Tensing up as they watched, Link reached for his weapons and the glaring Darunia rose his burly arms ever so slightly. "Aegir Art...," the former bishop began once more, narrowing his eyes to thin slits before suddenly widening his hazel-shaded orbs. "REVIVIFICATION!"

DROOM-RUMBLE-RUMBLE...

In accordance with his memories of their former encounter Link grunted as he reset his big brown boots back down to the ground, skidding backward from the sheer force of Scaverin's mighty Aegir technique. As the stone-like ground began to rumble ferociously it gave way to the massive plume of smoke that was borne from the robed man's technique. At last, as the fog of war began to die down, the watching heroes widened their eyes as they beheld the sight before them.

A closed coffin.

Similarly watching from his position next to the casket, the summoner grew a very small grin before raising up his index finger. "You... may recognise this one." Scaverin spoke, a sly tone in his baritone; Link found himself furrowing his brow in suspicion as he listened to the cloaked schemer snap his fingers.

CLICK-CLATTER-TUMBLE...

Tensing up, Darunia and Link exchanged a worried look before turning their eyes back to the opened sarcophagus. From inside the black abyss of death's prison stalked on through a shut-eyed muscular form; seemingly the shape of an adult man. Gasping in a high-pitched, horrified frown, Link widened his cobalt-blue eyes at the revelation laying before him.

"Link...!" Navi hissed out, as if to remind him somehow but it wasn't necessary; Link easily identified the person standing imposingly before them.

Barkner, the Goron.

Although formerly deceased and against all notions of impossibility, the young man himself stood in a low-stature, his eyes shut. Folding his arms behind him and the casket he came from stood the smirking Scaverin, visibly satisfied by the group's reaction.

"Barkner... my friend...," Darunia whispered out, dropping his arms from his earlier hostile form. "What have they done to you...?"

"Darunia no!" Navi called over at their slow-marching ally. "That's not Barkner anymore!" The guardian fairy advised frantically. "Link, tell him!"

In spite of his partner's urging Link couldn't help but stare between the pair of Gorons before him, guilt eating away at him like a disease.

Watching on with a grinning malicious chuckle, Scaverin rose up his right index finger from his folded-armed stance to snap his fingers a second time.

CLICK

Like magic, an imposing silver hammer materialised within the slouching Barkner's grip seemingly waking him up at last. As he opened his eyes to scan across the prison, the watching trio got a good look at the telling blackened sclera of his optics. Along with the marring imperfections that stained his appearance, such as the cracks in his skin, was the final sign of his formerly missing status.

Barkner truly was deceased.

Faced with the victim of his demonic second side Link found himself taking a step back, his grip on the Master Sword shaking. Taking quick note, Darunia double-took in his direction before narrowing his eyes at the youth.

"What-?" He began, narrowing his eyes at the former Kokiri. "What's...?"

"Oh this is just delicious...," the observing form of Scaverin grinned on, leaning his bald head to the side. "You didn't know... did you Darunia...?"

"Know what?" The listening Big Brother to the Gorons snapped back angrily, eager for answers.

"Don't!" Link suddenly blurted out wide-eyed, a desperate pitch in his baritone.

Chortling malevolently Scaverin re-opened his mouth, completely ignoring the young blonde. "You see... in my line of work... to use this technique I must have some form of molecule belonging to the deceased to be able to summon them...," he explained very briefly, nodding his head. "Hair, blood even teeth... it can be quite impressive what you can get away with." The former bishop grinned sarcastically, a chuckle on his lips.

Growling angrily as he listened, Darunia began to clench his fingers into fists.

"Anyway...," Scaverin started once more. "While... cleaning up... another of your little friend's escapades...," the summoner claimed, nodding his head in the direction of the horrified Link. "I could barely find a reminder of poor Barkner in that cavern... except for two things," he continued on, narrowing his eyes in his knowing smirk. Raising up his right index and forefinger amidst his folded-armed stare he resumed his elaboration. "The blood of a deceased Goron... and the hellish sample of Aegir left behind with it."

Gasping through his nose as he listened, Link found his eyes darting back to the similarly silent Darunia, terror engulfing his senses.

"Now... I'm no detective Darunia...," the robed man smirked. "But surely whoever commanded that Aegir would have been his killer... correct?" He posed, raising a curious eyebrow. Furrowing his brow as he listened on intently, captivated by the conversation.

"Where are you going with this...?" He murmured back, suspicion lacing his voice.

"Do you know who that Aegir belonged to...?"

Silence.

Here it comes, the harrowed Link thought to himself.

Just as he had feared, the wide-eyed form of Darunia very slowly 'rounded his bewildered open-mouthed frown on him, at last making the connection.

"Y-You...," the Goron chief gasped out, aghast at the revelation. "You were with him..."

"Darunia...," Link responded his voice breaking as he shook his blonde head back, tears very slowly staining the sides of his cerulean eyes. "I didn't mean to... it wasn't me, I-"

"You... you're a murderer...," Darunia whispered a horrified, stunned and open-mouthed frown. "What did he ever do to you...?"

"Darunia no!" Navi exclaimed into the conversation, flying in between the pair as if to cool the rapidly-growing tensions. "That wasn't Link; you have no idea how this-"

"He knows exactly how it went down... little insect," the narrow-eyed Scaverin interrupted her, causing the trio to swerve their heads in his folded-armed direction. "Now... join your fallen companion in death...," the cloaked schemer began once more, his hardened scowl very gradually morphing into a low-fanged smirk. "Kill them."


	29. Unfinished Business; a Runback Drenched in Blood

Chapter 29: Unfinished Business; a Runback Drenched in Blood  
Answering the Sworn Oath Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"A Searing Struggle" - YS III: The Oath in Felghana OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"Scarlet Tempest" - YS Origin OST. Scenes 1 (Second Half) and 2.

\--

In their tenuous and even shaky alliance Link, Sheik, Navi and Raynard join forces in a collaborated effort to enter and clear the divine Fire Temple of its infection by the devious Gerudian king Ganondorf. Despite their tight victory in the great struggle at the Forest Temple, Link considers the merits of simply attempting to power through the darkness-infested dungeons before them.

Now having lost even his Kokiri heritage along with his childhood friend Saria to the task his country's princess has given him, Link's distrust and negativity begin to eat away at him from the inside. Seemingly feeding from the very antagonism the newly christened Hylian youth festers Kage Narumono, Link's demonic second side, grows even stronger than its previously near-invincible satanic level of strength.

With information from the only survivor left in Goron City, Darunia's son, the main generals of the resurrected Hylianis Militaris Ordinis repeat their previous strategy. By dividing their forces to efficiently spend time in their search the three men hope to locate and save the missing Goron people, having been abducted by Hyrule's feared monarch. As way of sending a warning message to the Hylians and other races across the country, the heartless Dreadlord Dragmire aims to control the masses through despair and tyranny.

While searching through the Fire Temple however, Link and Navi manage to encounter their companion of old; chief to the Goron people and sworn brother Darunia. Although the Hero of Time is expectedly guilty of his demonic identity's crime in murdering the missing Barkner in the crisis for the Goron's Ruby, he attempts to work with the surviving Goron commander-in-chief in a collaborated effort to save his race. Unfortunately for the ill-fated pair things do not go as well as the stigmatised Link would hope for as the trio of heroes eventually find the missing Gorons, only, with one horrifying sight.

The resurrected right-hand to Darunia himself; Barkner.

Along with the summoned Goron corpse came his caller; the similar right-hand Scaverin, former man of the cloth. In revealing himself and his latest pawn, the devious Scaverin exposes the sickening hidden truth of Barkner's demise to the listening Darunia. Unable to believe it but, at last, connecting the dots that Scaverin drew for him the listening Goron chief turns his new-found repulsion on his sworn brother.

Although horrified at his dirty little secret finally having been unearthed, Link resolves to confront his distasteful past in the form of a fallen victim...

\--

Scene 1

Without a single word escaping from his lips the resurrected Barkner leapt ahead, huge silvery hammer singing proudly behind him. Grunting as they both shot off to the sides in evasion, the firm-faced Link and Darunia drifted across the ground in opposite sides, narrowly avoiding the deft Goron's plunging strike.

DROOM-RUMBLE...

Gasping as he landed, even far-off, the weapon Barkner commandeered appeared to have much strength behind it.

Perhaps even supernatural power.

"What is that?!" Link called out above the rumbling din the silvery hammer caused, the Master Sword and Hylian Shield rose up to his centre.

"I think it's that weapon of Goron legend...," Navi surmised, narrowing her eyes over at the divinely-crafted silver in Barkner's grip. "The Megaton Hammer!"

Link's blonde eyebrows lifted up in recognition of the name, having heard it previously in passing via his meetings with Sheik.

What a way to be introduced to it.

Double-taking over in the standing Scaverin's direction, Link narrowed his eyes back at the folded-armed summoner.

Seemingly defenceless and with no protection available, Scaverin appeared to be a sitting duck. In spite of all of his internal instincts telling him otherwise Link fought against them and leapt to his right to pursue the cloaked right-hand. Pulling the Master Sword back he glared on back at the raised eyebrow atop his enemy.

"This one is ambitious..." Scaverin's low voice chuckled, his voice echoing contrastingly softly.

"Link!" Navi called out frantically, her blue light expanding to convey her anxiety. Widening his similarly coloured eyes the air-dashing Link snapped his straw-haired head over. Finding the similarly speedy Barkner sailing toward him, Megaton Hammer pulled backward presumably to strike him with. Gasping, the Hero of Time swerved his body 'round and put the brakes on with his boots in a late attempt to bypass the ferocious assault. He held back an anxiety-filled gasp as he caught the sight of the silver barely grazing the fiery-crimson of his Goron Tunic before finally smashing against the stone ground viciously.

DROOM-RUMBLE...

Acting quickly, the narrow-eyed youth forced his shield into the deceased Goron's face to send him stumbling back. Though his grip on the Megaton Hammer seemed immovable, the wide-eyed Hero of Time managed to do the impossible by leaning forward and slamming two consecutive kicks into Barkner's sides.

"Towah!"

One after the other, the gasping Barkner was thrown up into the air by the brawny swordsman's double-kick; at last the grip on his feared weapon lessened as a result and dropped down to the ground harmlessly. Finishing up his counter-attack, Link let out a final yell of effort as he leapt up in place and savagely roundhouse kicked the resurrected corpse across his face, sending him careering across the sky. Gliding into the ground, Barkner managed to kick up an absurd amount of debris and wreckage from the brick and stone beneath him.

"Darunia!" Link called over as he landed, eyes widened. "Get him!"

Sure enough, the fast-approaching Barkner caused the watching Goron chief to gawk back in a bewildered manner.

"What's he doing...?!" Link hissed out through frustrated gritted teeth, more to himself than anyone else.

"Trauma..." Navi merely murmured out from the blonde's side, causing him to raise his eyebrows up in sudden realisation.

Just as they both feared, the fallen Barkner very quickly recovered from his earlier assault by utilising his burly left arm to push up off the ground. With a deft side-somersault, the deceased Goron youth narrowed his blackened eyes down at his former leader before pulling his arm back. Realising he was intending to attack him, Darunia stared back with a wide-eyed frown before scowling back and raising up his own muscled arms in a block-string.

"He's not gonna make it!" Link gasped out desperately before breaking into a sudden sprint in a futile attempt to cross the distance between them. Unfortunately, just as he had expected the undead cannonball that was the high-flying Barkner plummeted down at a faster rate than he could and, with a horrified stare, Link could only watch as the two clashed grandiosely.

CRASH-DROOM

Seemingly as emotionless and wordless as he had been previously summoned through, the frowning Barkner merely glared back down at the grunting Darunia beneath him. Burning-blood auras of Quintessence blazed between the brotherly battlers; Darunia in his cross-armed defence and Barkner in his hard-eyed haymaker. As he swiftly approached Link grunted to put an emergency hold on his advance as he felt the blazing-hot air of the Goron pair singe his skin.

There's no way I can even get near them like that, he thought to himself.

What to do?

"What an exciting stand-off..."

His attention grabbed, Link swivelled his blonde head 'round to stare back at the smirking-faced Scaverin, still looking as smartly as ever.

"How long do you think he can hold out?" The former bishop posed, raising a curious dark-brown eyebrow up. Similarly curious, Link enacted an identical but wordless facial cue to press him on. "After all... corpses are a wondrous resource for military use," he began to elaborate before a chuckle started to dance upon his sanctimonious tone. "They have a near limitless supply of Aegir you know..."

"No...," Link murmured back, horror filling the gap in his voice to match the frigid realisation. "Darunia!" He called over, attempting to send his pitch over the deafening sound of his ally's engagement. "You have to stop!" The youth hollered, eyes narrowed from the sheer sharpness of the biting wind that the two Gorons kicked up. "You won't be able to-!"

DROOM

Grunting in effort Link shot up his weapon-carrying arms in a defensive cross; having been sent veering mere yards away from his earlier position, he lowered them once more to widen his eyes at the sight before him.

Seemingly having broken the solid struggle between them the two Goron men stood on opposite sides of one another, glaring one another down. Although Barkner merely stood in his earlier detached closed-mouthed frown, Darunia set his burly legs apart and clenched his fists at his sides as he began to shake the very earth. Opening his mouth the Goron chief began a slow-to-loud battle cry as an aura of bright-red power circulated his body; a veritable maelstrom of Aegir and strength.

"He's going to blow the temple up...!" Navi squeaked, her tone full of distress as she hovered next to the gasping Link.

Shocking both the watching young Hylian and his guardian fairy, the wide-eyed form of Darunia blinked in and out of existence. Realising it was merely an after-image of the burly Goron, Link gasped as he darted his eyes in an attempt to follow the deceptively quick Darunia. Re-appearing directly behind the firmly-frowning Barkner, Darunia grunted with the effort of leaping through the air to ambush him with a wild and Quintessence-powered haymaker. Unwilling to even face his former brother-in-arms, Barkner merely shot up his right palm up to counter.

SMACK-CRASH

In display of the incredible power that Darunia put into his strike, the earth beneath them opened up into a very small chasm, burning from the contact of the Goron chief's fire-like Aegir aura. Shocked at his opponent's sheer control Darunia could only watch as the resurrected Barkner abruptly swung his head 'round to glare back eerily.

CRACK

"Argh...!"

In a pained and echoing howl Darunia found his power very slowly fading as his right fist began to become crushed within the grip of his enemy. Raising up his free left arm to grab at his own right, Darunia found himself widening his eyes once more when he found the chilling gaze of Barkner intensify alongside the meteoric raise in strength. As it did, a similar aura of Aegir encircled the deceased Goron's body.

"Link we have to help him!"

"I can't even... get close...!" Link gasped in a narrow-eyed grunt, both arms shielding himself from the sheer ferocity of the pair's auras.

"Kill him."

The icy tone in the order that was spoken made the wide-eyed Link turn briefly to eye the smirking-faced Scaverin on his right.

Not another one, Link thought.

This is all my fault.

If I hadn't let Barkner die then maybe...

SMASH-DROOM-RUMBLE

In a massive grunt of effort, the hard-eyed Barkner used his remaining arm to wildly wallop the wide-eyed warrior of the Gorons; as a result he was sent careering through the air before, finally, colliding rather painfully and cacophonous with the new wreckage that followed his fallen form. Working on the watching youth's nerves and fears, the narrow-eyed Barkner used his left arm to smash heavily upon the already destroyed ground. Like magic the Megaton Hammer laying aside from the watching Link was soon vaulted high into the air, seemingly descending down for the running Barkner to grapple. The ex-Kokiri's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and realisation.

Navi was right; whatever consciousness was left in Barkner had to have gone.

He's going to kill Darunia, he thought.

As the deceptively fast Barkner began to approach the fallen wreckage that Darunia seemingly rested under unconscious, he rose the Megaton Hammer up threateningly, an emotionless frown plastered upon his cracked expression. Pounding his young legs upon the ruined brick of the Fire Temple beneath him, Link tried desperately in vain to reach the space in between the pair of Gorons, great fear and dread looming over his conscience. The thought and fear of yet another comrade's death became so great that he found his own awareness very quickly slipping from him.

"Don't worry..."

Link's eyebrows lifted at the voice echoing from within the confines of his mind; recognisable and low-toned in pitch.

"I will deal with this..."

The last thing he managed to catch in his eyesight before his consciousness eventually faded was the blurry sight of Barkner leaping toward the wreckage Darunia was under.

~

DROOM-SKRRRRRRR

In a widely-grinning turn of his newly demonic-fanged facial expression, Kage Narumono shot up the Master Sword between the hard-eyed Barkner and the wreckage behind him. Sparks of intense confrontation and of their fiery Aegir auras clashed as if they were mere weapons themselves before, finally, Kage's hellish-crimson eyes widened with effort as he pushed the grunting Barkner back. In a deft and surprisingly acrobatic back-flip the resurrected cadaver found itself recovering rather gracefully, its movement followed very closely by the glaring Kage.

SSSSS

Gasping, Kage growled in sudden biting pain as he dropped the sky-blue hilt of the divine Master Sword. Shaking his left fingers off as if they were burning from the contact, the demonic red-garbed warrior narrowed his eyes down at the holy blade before turning his gaze back up to his enemy.

CLANG-CLATTER

Similarly dropping the Hylian Shield his second identity carried so well, Kage grunted as he rotated his fiery-blonde head around, as if to return some of the blood flow.

"Damn... Master Sword...," the demonic warrior growled out in a distasteful glower directed down at the still sizzling hilt of the legendary blade beneath him. Seemingly having been very lightly injured by the holy weapon, Kage flexed his clawed fingers in an animal-like fashion. "Swords are for weaklings... after all..." He spoke disarmingly softly as he briefly eyed the watching Scaverin.

Double-taking with surprise however in the direction of his current opponent, the deceased Barkner, Kage found himself visibly shocked.

"Well... if it isn't you; isn't this a surprise...," the demonic warrior chuckled, notably amused by the revelation. "Didn't I already murder you?" He grunted over, a crude crease to his scowl as he spoke.

Just as always, the watching Barkner merely frowned on back in an impassive expression, seemingly unable to be read. The watching Kage merely glared on back, narrowing his fiery eyes back suspiciously.

"Hmph..."

"You..."

His attention successfully acquired, Kage turned a raised crimson eyebrow over to the speaking summoner far-off to his north-east. At last he unfolded his arms and watched on back in a scrutinising stare, as if examining the new form Link's vessel had taken.

"You're the one that banished my last summoned corpse...," Scaverin claimed, glaring on imposingly. As he listened and, seemingly also recalled, Kage slowly gained a low fanged grin. "So... God was right... you do exist..."

"'God'...?" Kage parroted promisingly, glowering on back. "You don't mean...?"

"Yes...," Scaverin cut in, his own grin very gradually spreading across the creases of his older facial expression. "The king of this country; your ruler."

"No man rules me, zealot," Kage threw over insultingly, narrowing his eyes as he did. "After I dispatch your latest corpse... you will follow... old man." He threatened lowly, a promise burning on his hateful tone.

"My, my so confident...," Scaverin chuckled, tilting his bald head very lightly to the side. "Do you realise that your power comes from the very holiest of relics?"

"Of course I do...," Kage countered back, raising a curious eyebrow. "Where is this going...?"

"You are not the only one with this power... demon...," the summoner posed, losing his grin in favour of a warning scowl. "My god is stronger than yours..."

Perhaps excited at the prospect in doing mortal battle with the mentioned king of evil, Kage licked his lips satanically and chuckled maliciously.

"Good," the beast-like warrior laughed heartily, lowering his stance to face the older man as he set his boots apart and opened up his two palms at his side. "I welcome the challenge... old man..."

"Hmph...," the watching Scaverin shot back in a narrow-eyed glare. "We will see... if there is iron in your words..."

–

2

Charging toward the demonically charged ex-Kokiri the hard-eyed Barkner delivered a wild swinging wallop; his burly Goron arm sung cacophonously as it clotheslined in an odd direction for its destination. Scowling lowly, Kage swerved his fiery-haired head under the strike before growling in effort as he side-stepped into an aura-infused right roundhouse kick.

SMASH

Grunting in the pain, Barkner was sent a few steps stumbling back from the sheer ferocity of the counter-attack. Stepping forward in pursuit, Kage lowered his form to wave-dash ahead, body and form sleek; swinging his legs roughly in a spinning hell-sweep before crashing a left hook into the Goron's face. Grunting a second time as he was knocked cleanly off of his grip on the wrecked ground, Barkner turned his left arm down to pounce off of and recover. Flipping athletically to his left side, the deceased Goron turned his abyss-shaded eyes down to glower at the fast-approaching form of his opponent.

Leaping as he approached Kage roared in widened eyes, horizontally swinging a high roundhouse; ready for him this time the intently watching Barkner parried the demon's rising sun by raising up his right arm. Successfully grappling the satanic warrior's leg and halting his assault early, Barkner followed up with a narrow-eyed vertical downward chop. Widening his fiery-red eyes Kage screamed in agony as the echoing sound of his vessel's bones broke in contact.

CRACK

Utilising the grip he had on the fiery Aegir form of his opponent Barkner swung him 'round in a spinning savage toss, sending him grunting and twisting across the destroyed surface of the Fire Temple. Widening his devilish eyes at the rough-shaking the earth took he caught the sight of the super-fast form of his enemy chasing on after him in a curled up shape, viciously ripping at the already demolished floor beneath him. Rolling toward him with frightening speed Kage readied his senses as he at last began to come to a stop.

SKRRRR-SMASH

In a grandiose blast, the cadaver smashed apart the ground turbulently in a ground pound technique to vault high up into the air. Seemingly reaching the apex of height gravity allowed him Barkner at last uncurled up into his normal form before finally descending down for the fallen Kage. Pulling his right fist back Barkner's form began to take a fiery-aura similar to that of the Shinzui's Aegir that encircled Kage.

A testament to the sheer power and speed at which the Goron plummeted.

Narrowing his eyes in concentrated effort Kage watched intently and carefully and, as his enemy made the final approach, the demonic warrior used his remaining leg to shoot up in a fiery-fierce roundhouse.

DROOM-RUMBLE...

Growling back at the emotionless-faced Barkner Kage grit his teeth in effort as he clashed his left roundhouse with the Goron's savage haymaker.

DROOM-FLASH

Gasping in his agonised grunt Kage was sent spiralling from the overwhelming pressure and force in which his opponent put into his frightening strike. Bleeding profusely and visibly heavily injured Kage could only grunt further as he finally landed in an echoing smash, the ground eating up even further than it already had.

"Nanda-ko...?" Kage whispered out at the ceiling above him, his words and voice laced with twinging pain. "He... couldn't kill me... before..."

"Predictable..."

Gasping a second time, Kage turned his bloodied face 'round to eye the visibly satisfied form of the folded-armed Scaverin.

"Do you think you are the only one in this world with access to the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai's power?" The former bishop posed in a half-curious raise of his eyebrow. "Once I analysed it, it wasn't difficult to build a resistance to it in my Aegir Art; Revivification," he explained in a knowing chuckle; realising his seeming end and the meaning of his enemy's words, Kage's demonically-red eyes widened in horror. "You never had a chance to begin with..." The bald-headed cloaked summoner laughed in gratification.

"Shippai...," Kage gasped back, slowly shutting his eyes in a symbolic quiet gesture for defeat. "I have... failed..."

Somehow sensing the weakened demon's words, the watching Barkner very gradually marched toward the fallen form of his opponent, blackened eyes narrowed.

"Kill him." The folded-armed Scaverin smirked over; his final order. Obeying his summoner the Goron cadaver leapt up abruptly and plummeted down to meet the glaring-faced Kage, his right burly fist held back.

"Oyasumi..." Kage merely murmured out, his voice uncharacteristically soft to match the odd sentimental tone his voice took.

In spite of the fallen demon's fatalism however, his body's left arm shot up with sudden ferocity that it surprised even him. Widening his right red eye he watched as he involuntarily grappled at the Goron's right arm, pulsating with Aegir.

"Wha-?!" He gasped out; realising he could feel only the right side of his body made him arrive at the only sensible conclusion left to him.

And, just as he suspected, the boy's left eye returned to its original beautiful sky-blue; as a single tear stained the side of his very human left eye, the watching Goron stared back down at half of the returned Link himself.

A shocking revelation indeed.

"Barkner...," he spoke through cracks in his voice, audibly upset. The Goron above him narrowed his abyss-like eyes back at him. "I'm so sorry...," the resurrected Hylian managed out, the left side of his facial expression visibly quivered. "This is all my fault..."

Although it was very subtle, Kage and Link both caught the listening Barkner's eyes twitch in the ostensibly emotionless frown he carried on his expression.

"What's wrong?" Scaverin called over, notably concerned; raising his head up to narrow his eyes over at the scene he watched on intently. "I gave you an order!" He exclaimed angrily, glaring on at the pair.

Seemingly unwilling to listen any further however, Barkner's deceased frown began to soften up alongside the pressure he dealt to his former enemy's form.

It almost appeared that the Goron was listening to the fallen Hylian's ramblings.

"I know it wasn't me that did it...," the left side of the talking ex-Kokiri claimed before briefly shutting his tear-stained left eye. Re-opening it he continued. "But I feel so responsible for it...," he gasped out. "I don't deserve it, but...," the youth began one last time before very slowly morphing the left side of his saddened frown into a hopeful soft smile. "I hope you can forgive me... in the next life..."

Listening silently, the right side of the young man's face turned to watch; Kage Narumono. Turning his burning-bloody eye up to face the Goron above them, Kage could only widen it in even further surprise.

The silent Barkner visibly lowered his oppressive force and frowned back in a strange kind of sentience; something that even the watching Kage took note of. As time passed very slowly between the trio of warriors, eventually the seemingly dispassionate frown on Barkner's face altered into a similar smile.

The watching Kage and Scaverin could barely believe it.

"What in the hell...?" The angry-eyed right-hand to Ganondorf murmured, scrutinising the scene before him as best he could with the limited information he possessed. "What's-?!"

As if triggered by his summoner's words, a new kind of golden aura began to radiate off of the Goron's ghostly form. Similar to when Kage himself dispelled the last corpse, the vessel that Barkner was bonded to began to separate from the newly angelic form the Goron took. Now apparently bereft of its soul, the vessel he was previously inhabiting began to crumble into sheer dust and debris, harmlessly dropping onto the ground.

Ascending to the sky, just as the last corpse's soul did, Barkner graced the watching Link with a well-meaning smile of his own before opening his mouth one last time.

"Of course I forgive ya...," Barkner began, tears very slowly staining his own eyes. "Pipsqueak..."

His final term of affection, so nostalgic and warm, left the watching Link half-laughing and half-crying, seemingly moved to sheer tears. Although Kage stared on in pure puzzlement and even bewilderment he opted to shut his satanically right red eye, unconsciousness taking over.

At last the angelic form of the ghostly Barkner dissolved into the sky as it ascended, leaving the spectating summoner staring in a stumped open-mouthed frown.

"How...?" He murmured out, similarly to Kage unable to work the very situation out. Raising his eyebrows in sensing, the former bishop snapped his bald head 'round to the sudden noise at his left side.

Sure enough, the shocked forms of Sheik and Raynard stood at the entrance and exit to the prison's room, similarly baffled.

"Tsk...," Scaverin clicked his tongue angrily, as if having encountered a pair of insects to be stomped on. "Nuisances...," he muttered before darting his narrowed eyes over to the fallen form of the newly unconscious Link. Not much liking his chances the summoner unfolded his cloaked arms and turned back to re-face the watching Sheik and Raynard, raising up a single Deku Nut with his left arm. "Just a little more boys... and the end of days will dawn for you all." He finished, a harsh hiss to the end of his sentence as he dropped the tool he carried, filling the room in a sudden bright flash of white.


	30. Knighthood's Highest Calling

Chapter 30: Knighthood's Highest Calling  
Answering the Sworn Oath Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Crimson Sunset" - Tekken V OST. Scene 5.

\--

In their fight to overturn the influence of evil and fear that the Dreadlord Dragmire has breathed into the divine Fire Temple Sheik, Link, Navi and Raynard all join forces in their infiltration to rid it of their enemy's military forces. Although, as before, the group splits up they both encounter similarly difficult problems indeed.

Heading deep into the lava-like dungeon, Sheik and Raynard manage to come into contact with what can only be called a 'Flare Dancer'. Although they come very close the pair of experienced young warriors manage to come out on top by utilising their teamwork and inside knowledge.

Similarly exploring far through the ancient temple Link and Navi at last come into contact with their old companion Darunia and reminisce of former days. Pressing on, the trio eventually come face-to-face with the right-hand to their country's usurping ruler; former man of the Hylian military and religious cloth, Scaverin. In revealing himself the devious summoner uses his infamous technique to bring back yet another former companion of the heroes.

The Goron Barkner.

Having been previously murdered in cold blood seven years prior in a horrific accident by the villainous Kage Narumono, Scaverin hopes to undermine the group's trust by revealing this information to the listening Darunia. At last aware of the treachery he never thought to consider, Darunia can barely form a word in response.

The horrifying truth has finally come to light.

In spite of this revelation however Scaverin's order to finish the pair forces them into yet another confrontation; it is in this that they learn one important fact about their enemy's unholy technique.

The summoned corpses that Scaverin calls seem to have a near limitless supply of Aegir and physical energy.

In spite of this knowledge and even knowing it all, Kage Narumono attempts to come to the rescue a second time. Ready for this interruption however Scaverin uses his research into the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai, thanks to the willing Ganondorf, to counter the demon's normally wildly effective treatment. In doing so he not only near eliminates him but destroys all hope of redemption.

Surprising even his demonic second side however the Hero of Time himself re-awakens from within his consciousness for one thing only...

Forgiveness.

Oddly, Barkner responds to the youth; the first and only words he were to ever speak after his return to the Light World. When he absolves the guilty-plagued hero he, strangely, finds himself ascending once more to the next plane of existence – the Void.

Although he has no answers for the epiphany he has just witnessed Scaverin, once again, retreats from the battlefield as reinforcements arrive in the form of the wandering Sheik and Raynard...

\--

Scene 1

"So... he did it again..."

Ganondorf's voice, normally so easy to read, was oddly calm and composed; it echoed on out into the throne room they resided in.

"Yes... my lord," Scaverin answered, standing ever at the ready at his master's side, eyes narrowed down to meet the reserved form of Hyrule's king. "Although I was ready to deal with the Shinzui's power..."

"It would certainly appear this boy no ordinary warrior..."

His words having been interrupted, albeit softly, the listening Scaverin upturned one of his eyebrows in light surprise before swiftly closing his mouth.

An eager grin spread very slowly across the formerly-frowning form of the Gerudian king. "Even discounting the involvement of the Shinzui itself... I must say I am impressed." Ganondorf couldn't help but grin in his compliment.

"Ah but... sire..."

Though he chuckled on, Ganondorf soon found himself raising up a flaming-haired eyebrow in curiosity before turning to face the former bishop.

"It's, rather, how he did it that is still a problem..." The cloaked schemer managed out with a concerned frown, folding his arms as he did so.

The listening Gerudian king lowered his smirk in favour of a turning frown. "How so...?"

"Of all things... this boy asked for... forgiveness..."

Silence.

"And... that is what stopped your summoned corpse?"

Positively ashamed by the association of such words the listening Scaverin sighed through his nose before shutting his eyes and nodding.

"Hrm...," Ganondorf hummed out thoughtfully before briefly swivelling his head back 'round to face forward. "Perhaps... it is more simple than we think."

Blinking in surprise Scaverin couldn't help but put on a similarly shocked frown. "M-My lord?"

Placing his right elbow to rest softly across his buffed up left forearm he cupped his chin in an astute manner. "Did this boy have any kind of history with this... soldier you summoned?"

"W-Why yes I believe he-"

"Hmph...," Ganondorf interrupted in a deft grinning grunt. "There's your answer..."

"W-Wha-?"

"It would appear that your new technique most definitely has some drawbacks... my old friend," the knowledgeable older man shot back before turning his amber-eyed gaze forward once more. "Somehow... in reaching this relationship your enemy had with your soldier... it would seem he managed to lay his formerly living regrets... to rest."

At last realising his king's words, and the meaning behind them, the listening Scaverin couldn't help but hold back a shocked gasp as he widened his eyes.

"Hah...," Ganondorf laughed heartily, nodding his head upward as he thought of the exchange. "How noble..."

"Of course...," Scaverin whispered, narrowing his eyes in a mixture of realisation and anger. "How could I miss it...?!"

"It's an easy mistake to make...," Ganondorf offered in a low casual smile. "You'll just have to do more research into your subjects...," he continued on, threading his fingers together once more in his smile as he briefly turned to face the former bishop. "Or improve your technique... whichever comes first."

Bowing forward in a sign of apology and respect, the listening Scaverin shut his eyes as he did. "Yes... my lord."

"More importantly...," the joined-fingered king began once more, a grin gracing his complexion as he re-faced the front. "Not once but many, many times this mere boy has managed to impede my plans..."

Harking on quietly and intently Scaverin rose up an eyebrow.

With a final knowing smirk to his tone, Ganondorf finished his calculated speech. "We may have to pull the full potential of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai from him... my old friend..."

~

"Yowai..."

The sound of Kage Narumono's normally sharp and harsh blade-like voice uncharacteristically softly bounced off the walls of the listening Link's subconscious. Turning his blonde head 'round to face the source of the demonic voice, the frowning ex-Kokiri found the reflection of himself laying down inside a steel-barred cage. Back facing him, the form of the young adult was in a low sitting position, ostensibly resting inside the prison he spoke from.

"Kage..." Link greeted in a light frowning murmur.

"Why are you here...?" The demonic mirrored form of the youth threw over his low shoulder, head similarly lowered. "You saw what happened..."

Realising he was referring him to their earlier altercation with Barkner Link couldn't help but frown back softly, a strange sense of melancholy to it.

This was the very first time he had seen a quality in Kage Narumono that he could fully appreciate.

To be fair though, the young Hylian thought to himself...

This was quite possibly the one time Kage had ever encountered failure.

He must be feeling fairly sorry for himself, the youth surmised silently.

"No power is absolute... Kage," Link advised the deflated demon before him, a kind of sad frown atop his own expression. "Everyone learns that eventually." He finished, a light smile forming on his complexion.

"Weak...," Kage shot back over his shoulder, facing the crimson-garbed youth with a hateful glare on his hellish-red eye. "Only non-combatants would speak in such a way..."

"Maybe...," the listening Hylian conceded very easily before re-growing the smile on his face. "Maybe it's just a matter of... perspective."

As his words echoed across the walls of their shared subconscious, Link's tall form began to phase in and out of existence; a sign of his leaving. Watching with one eye Kage merely furrowed his brow as he listened.

"Yowai..."

–

3

Groaning from the sheer agony his body and head dealt to him, Link felt disorientated to say the least.

Where am I, he thought.

Darkness covered his eyes; something appeared to be completely blocking his normally decent vision.

"Don't make any sudden movements; you're injured."

Gasping very quietly, more to himself, Link judged the voice as fairly soft and demure.

A woman's?

Not someone he recognised.

"Though I'm sure you'll make these look like scratches in a few hours..." The woman spoke once more, a well-natured smile in the tone of her words.

"W-Who...?"

"Shh..."

Wincing from the abrupt touch he felt across his open mouth the youth dropped his own voice in obeying, surprised a second time by the woman's cushioned finger. Listening further the blind blonde furrowed his brow as he listened to her step lightly 'round to what sounded like his left.

What is she doing, he thought, half-worried and paranoid.

"It's okay...," she whispered down at him, somehow sensing his inward thoughts. "You know me..."

Link found his eyes narrowing into the abyss staring back at him.

Who was this woman?

"You're safe...," she spoke, her voice as delicate as the touch she graced him with. "I won't let anything else happen to you."

Strange, Link thought.

Somehow that voice is so familiar.

Where have I heard you before?

"W-Where is-?"

"Shh..."

Silencing him a second time she drew even closer to him than before; sensing her presence approach his body he widened his eyes past the blindfold he wore when he felt her fingertips graze his apparently bare chest.

Why is my tunic off?

What the hell is going on?

"Those wounds... they've all been my fault..."

His brow furrowed once more as he listened, attempting to work out who the reticent voice belonged to.

"I wish I could tell you who I am but...," the mystery woman's voice sighed close-by. "I shouldn't even be speaking to you now..."

He sensed her approach even further; he couldn't help but flinch when he felt her forehead press delicately against his. The youth held back a gasp when he felt something caress the sides of his callous face gently.

Her hands it would seem.

The odd scent of some oddly familiar kind of perfume filled his nose's senses.

I do know who this is, he thought.

But how?

"You've given up so much for me since that day we met..."

The pleasant odour of her body began to mess with his already groggy head; intoxicating him even as he lay there.

This isn't good, he thought.

I can't just let her-

"I think... that I've always loved you... even back then."

Her demure voice so oddly confident in her claim gave a bizarre kind of quality to it.

What is she talking about, he ruminated on silently.

"Even if nothing else... I can at least do this for you."

With those words he felt her come even closer to him judging by the ticklish sensation across his cheeks.

That feels like earrings, he thought.

Earrings and long hair.

"Mm-!"

Surprised by the slow graze to his mouth she graced him with, he felt her lock her lips with his.

What the hell is she doing?!

In spite of the abrupt surge of anger that flew through his spine he, very gradually, found himself sinking into the embrace she gifted him with.

I shouldn't be doing this, he thought.

What about Malon?

Maybe this is Malon.

No...

No, it can't be Malon; she smells different.

So then... who...?

"Mm..."

The sound of her mezzo-soprano moaning softly with his contributed to the dizzily swimming of his head.

It was, oddly, very addictive.

This is wrong, he thought.

I have to stop this.

But it feels so good...

He felt her run her fingers smoothly through the bangs in his blonde hair, as if revelling in the action. Although he attempted in vain to lift his arms he found, strangely, that he couldn't.

Something seemed to be pushing down on it supernaturally.

A magical seal perhaps?

Whatever it was, it was absolute; the young Hylian could only lie there and feel the young woman somewhat naively explore the insides of his tongue and his mouth. In spite of this however he felt a similar kind of eagerness he had displayed himself when first embracing Malon.

She definitely wants this, he thought.

At last however she pulled her fingers from his head, almost seemingly begrudgingly; a promise yet to come for the pair. Before completely leaving the sides of his face however she seemed to linger a short while longer.

"I know how it must feel to you..."

Narrowing his cerulean eyes beneath the blindfold he wore, Link listened on as if to look for some kind of deception in her voice.

"But I will always be watching over you Link...," the mystery woman whispered, her own head seemingly close to his own; he could veritably feel the humid warmth of her breath on his face. "I will... always be yours, alone..."

The similarly sweet singing sound of her voice managed to take him the rest of the way to sleep, the compulsion to let go in her arms simply too great.

This is just a dream, he thought.

Just a dream...

~

With a wide-eyed gasp Link awoke with a start, similar to how he used to back in his childhood days in the Kokiri Forest. At last able to move again he shot his upper body in a vertical snap; reaching for the blindfold he cursed so infernally he grunted in his removal of it, eager to regain his vision again.

Sure enough, as the brick-red of the room slowly began to settle before him, Link at last realised where he was.

The prison.

Surprised he was laying on a stretcher that appeared to be rolled on in the room he had fought in not mere minutes ago.

Maybe it was longer, he countered himself silently.

I was out cold...

Wasn't I...?

"It felt so real..." He mused quietly lowering his cobalt-blue eyes in a thoughtful frown, thinking back to the voice of the elusive woman speaking to him. Pulling his left arm off from across his raised knee the blonde turned to step off of the stretcher. Surprised in the sudden responsiveness his body allowed him he rose his straw-haired eyebrows up to reflect it.

"After that fight I thought I was finished."

At least I got to be forgiven he added on in his ruminations, a slow smile gracing his complexion as he thought of the fallen departed Goron.

But... Darunia...

With that thought weighing him down Link marched forward out of the prison previously used to hold Goron prisoners-of-war and rolled his shoulders to regain some feeling through them. Reaching for the door he flinched when he saw the knob turning and narrowed his eyes, waiting; opening it through, a similarly blonde form stood staring back at him, familiar and all.

The leader of the Hylian rebellion.

"Sheik...," the Hero of Time greeted the fiery-eyed Sheikah with a business-like frown. Oddly he found the Sheikah uncharacteristically avoiding his eyesight. "How long have I been out?"

"U-Um... just a few hours...," the youth shot back in a hand-raised cough. "H-How are you... feeling...?"

Link couldn't help but raise a half-annoyed eyebrow at him but responded regardless.

"Fine...," he murmured, furrowing his brow forward. "How is Darunia?"

"He's... still unconscious last we checked but he's very much alive," the blonde youth nodded, at last turning to re-face him. "He's in a stable condition."

"Good...," Link murmured back, lowering his oceanic eyes in a silently thankful frown. Suddenly remembering his odd dream however, his eyebrows re-rose before he did the same with his head and re-opened his mouth. "This... might sound strange but..."

"Hm...?"

"Is there a... woman... living around here?"

Silence.

Feeling completely and utterly stupid Link couldn't help but avert his eyes from his unit's leader, a very faint wince upon his face.

"U-Um..."

Double-taking in bewildered curiosity Link found himself staring at Sheik's second bashful expression.

What the hell is wrong with him?

"N-No... w-why do you ask?"

"I...," he began in reply, narrowing his left eye singularly in scrutinisation. "Had a weird... dream...," the youth claimed before shaking his head of the matter. "It's probably nothing..."

"Ah..." Sheik nodded, an odd quality in his hot-crimson eye; Link watched him carefully, finding an odd kind of knowledge in them.

He knows something, he thought.

"Did you... get to-"

"Yo!"

Interrupted so crudely Sheik could only cringe from the sudden firm disrupting voice; turning their heads similarly the pair found the firmly-frowning face of Raynard fast-approaching them.

"I was wondering when you'd finally get up...," the dark-haired mercenary bantered over in a well-meaning light grin, his arms seemingly folded as per usual. Realising his two allies hardened annoyed stares on him however he pulled back temporarily, raising a curious ebony eyebrow upward to match the clueless shrug he graced them with. "What?!"

In a visibly annoyed sigh Sheik shook his blonde head before turning to leave into the lobby, presumably to drive the discussion forward.

"How is Darunia, last you checked Raynard?" The Sheikah questioned over his shoulder, the frowning pair of warriors following behind him dutifully.

"Still out cold," the black-haired halberd wielder shot back, re-folding his arms in his hardened frown. "Haven't seen him come back out of it since we dug him up."

"Navi in there with him?" Link questioned curiously, raising a blonde eyebrow. Nodding in response, Sheik re-opened his mouth to reply vocally.

"Yes," he answered before continuing on. "She was very helpful; it seemed she knew quite a bit about his condition."

Knowing exactly what he was referring to Link chose to remain quiet, averting his eyes in a guilty frown.

"I stored the Master Sword inside with Darunia; don't worry," he added on. Link furrowed his brow before reaching for the familiar sky-blue hilt on his left side and, sure enough, couldn't find it. "For some odd reason you... weren't using it during that fight."

Again, realising what the Sheikah was talking about, the young Hylian turned his eyes away from his commander.

"I'll go get it for you; we can discuss tactics on the final assault." The rebellion's leader threw over his shoulder one last time before pressing forward, presumably for the unconscious Darunia's room. Left alone the two young men found themselves awkwardly sharing silence together.

"Raynard...," Link began, narrowing his oceanic eyes after his leader in an unsure frown. The listening mercenary raised a curious eyebrow of his own as he turned his head to face the Hero of Time. "Was there... a woman in here earlier?"

"A woman?" The scarred youth parroted before chuckling derisively and shaking his head. "In here?"

"I know how idiotic it sounds...," Link murmured once more, lowering his eyes in thought and remembrance. "But... it felt so real..."

"What felt so real?" Raynard countered shaking his head a second time though, this time, more in an unsure request for clarification.

Realising he was creating more questions than answers Link merely sighed softly and blew a stray strand of straw hair out of his sea-blue eyes, a saddened frown upon his expression.

"Oh... nothing really."

–

4

The smell of brimstone and fire permeated the atmosphere and the area the group of warriors stood around.

Oppressive, Link thought to himself reservedly.

It was almost as if something in the air was telling him that this confrontation had to be done regardless of what had already happened.

"Where is it?" Raynard, as always, crudely put toward his unit's commander. Nodding his turban head forward in response, Sheik frowned beneath the similarly white scarf he wore, pointing toward the noticeably large locked door.

Recognising it as the one he once met Darunia from, Link realised exactly what was hiding behind it.

Leaping forward he pressed on ahead of his three comrades, aquatic eyes set on the door.

"Link, wait!"

In spite of Sheik's call the blonde youth pressed on regardless, his destination the golden-locked door before him. Catching on up with the Hero of Time however the high-flying Navi, Raynard and Sheik all crossed the distance in the platforms between them all.

"You can't walk in there alone," Sheik hissed in the young man's direction as he stepped to his right side, fiery-eye narrowing accusingly. "That's a dragon...!"

"I know Sheik," Link countered over his shoulder, knocking the golden locks above him with the back side of his right hand. Sure enough, as he pressed it, it dropped to the ground in a cacophonous clang seemingly having been seen to earlier. "Better me than anyone else."

Surprised by his words, the listening Sheikah rose up his light-blonde eyebrows, seemingly unable to find a viable response.

"You ain't getting' rid of us that easy," Raynard muttered over in a hard-eyed glower; his normal firmly-frowning expression. "Dragon slaying's gotta be on my list too, after all..."

"Dragon slaying... huh...?" Link repeated in a dream-like yet hardened gaze of his own as the previously firmly locked door before him shoot upward. Feeling the weight of the silvery Megaton Hammer on his belt he couldn't help but grow a small shut-eyed grin to match the odd cheer he felt. "Yeah... same here."

~

The boiling air that washed over his face was as bad if not worse than the wind in the previous room.

On the single platform the three men stood they turned their gaze forward only to find the single and last platform left; it was a dirty-coloured one with oddly crimson-hot rings of lava dotted around it.

It's hiding in there, Link thought to himself as he narrowed his oceanic eyes at them suspiciously.

"Be careful in approaching it...," Sheik advised lowly, eye similarly narrowing next to him. "It's probably already aware we're in here..."

"Good...," Raynard interrupted the exchange as rudely as usual, a scowling grunt on his tongue and tone as he stepped forward past the group. "Faster we get this done... the better."

"No Raynard wait!"

TMP

In an effortless bound the dark-haired mercenary managed to cross the distance between the brick-red platform they stood on and the dirt-shaded one ahead. Wincing as he watched Sheik couldn't help but flinch as his rash ally landed.

"What?" The youth threw over his shoulder in a shrugging grin. "There's nothing he-"

RUMBLE...

Widening their eyes the group of men found themselves in the heat of battle, just as they had initially feared; grumbling on beneath the boiling hot lava below, the form underneath that caused the echoing rumbling at last revealed itself.

SCREECH

In a boisterous reverberating scream, the long form of what appeared to be the dragon itself finally unearthed itself; flying directly out of one of the small pits of lava the long intimidating creature called out cacophonously. Looking more like a snake than a dragon in its form, Volvagia appeared to be wingless entirely; its only appendages were its similarly sleek clawed arms and head. Upon its flaming-haired head it wore what appeared to be an ancient dragon-scaled helmet.

A form of armour that would be a challenge indeed to penetrate.

"Come on...," Link murmured over to the wide-eyed Sheik. "We'd better go help him."

–

5

Subterranean Lava Dragon – Volvagia

SCREECH

As the snake-like form of the high-flying dragon filled the air with its deafening call, it fired forth a stream of searing flame from its mouth; the sign of a true lizard indeed. Rolling across the blackened ground Raynard grunted in effort as he just barely managed to avoid the well-aimed singing Volvagia attempted.

"Fuck me...!" He hissed out, amber eyes narrowing on after the ancient flying creature. "Can't slip up!"

"Link, it's getting away!" Navi suddenly called out from the joining blonde's side; he nodded in response, reaching back into his belt behind him.

"On it."

With that the Hero of Time pulled forth the trusty bow he had procured from the Forest Temple and, nocking an arrow behind the string, he took careful aim at the floaty and predictable flight path of his enemy. Widening his sea-blue eyes he let loose the carefully-plucked arrow and watched it fly through the air in rapid search of its destination.

SQUELCH

Although Volvagia itself gave no vocal notice of the arrow's strike the watching group of youths caught the echoing sickening squash from its head connecting with the air assault. Even as it flew back inside one of its many underground lava holes the narrow-eyed Link gave pursuit in a futile attempt to head it off. Sure enough, even as he approached, he was too late even to draw his main weapon.

"Over here!"

Turning their heads 'round in surprise both Sheik and Link found the eager-toned Raynard rushing for the burning-aura that was the fast-approaching Volvagia.

"Raynard wait for us!" Sheik called out worriedly fiery eye widened as he leapt up to fire off a few throwing knives. Just as he had feared however they bounced harmlessly off the screeching Volvagia's robust helmet. As they spun ecstatically into the air the narrow-eyed Raynard, seemingly opting not to heed his commander's order, reached for the shining halberd across his back. Spinning it 'round expertly he roared with effort as he brought it down in an effort-filled diagonal swipe.

WHOOSH

TINK

His sap-amber eyes widened in a mixture of bewilderment and horror, especially when he realised the inevitable counter-attack was coming. Shooting up his halberd diagonally in a near-futile attempt to block he grunted in a shocking movement of effort as Volvagia roared back at him angrily.

SKRRRRR

"Agh...!" Raynard managed out; having been sent drifting a few steps backward from Volvagia's raking clawed strike, the black-haired youth took his time in recovering, spinning his halberd a second time as he did. "That's insane...!"

"Normal weaponry won't work!" Sheik advised, jogging to catch up with the gasping mercenary. "I don't think even the Master Sword would be able to damage it..." The wise Sheikah claimed, briefly turning to face the walking and listening Link. Nodding in turn with his commander he reached onto his belt for the silvery hammer he once watched Barkner wield.

The legendary Megaton Hammer.

Pulling the sheath of the Master Sword itself off of his belt and his back, perhaps to lighten his load, Link dropped it to his side in an echoing clang. Cobalt-blue eyes narrowing he even found himself removing the boots 'round his ankles as well as the fingerless gloves he wore so well previously.

"Link what are you-?"

"If there was one thing Kage was right about... it's this," Link responded by softly interrupting his guardian fairy, crackling his bare knuckles and rolling his neck 'round his shoulders. "Power is everything."

"You need that sword!" Raynard called over his shoulder, amber eyes similarly narrowed. Glaring back at his similarly-aged ally, Link merely re-opened his mouth to respond.

"Only a weakling relies on weaponry," he retaliated with in an emphatic glare before re-focusing his gaze on the missing form of their shared enemy. "Yowai..."

Though at first seemingly surprised by his rival's audacity the listening Raynard turned his shocked frown into an annoyed glower before 'rounding it in search for their common foe.

SCREECH

Almost having listened to the Hero of Time's very words the screaming ancient dragon called out cacophonously as it rose up from one of the many lava pits close-by. Although his comrades widened their eyes in an attempt to ready themselves, the watching Link darted his eyes over to his lower left before raising up his superior left fist. Seemingly encircled with an elementally crimson-coloured aura of a similar fire, the wide-eyed Hero of Time roared with effort as he brought his fiery left fist down on the narrow-eyed Volvagia's head.

CRASH-DROOM-SCREECH

With incredible power the dragon beneath him was near knocked unconscious by the swing of its opponent's mere fist; thrown like a great-axe, it appeared to carry much weight behind it for the lizard-like creature fell to the ground, its limbs and long flaming hair splayed out before the watching warriors.

"Good god...!" Raynard gasped out, eyes widened, near unable to believe it.

"Now Link; now!" Sheik called out urgently, clenching a fist in excitement.

Opting to heed his commander's order the narrow-eyed Hero of Time rose up his slow-spinning left leg in a half-moon axe kick technique.

SMASH

Grunting as he forced it out of its hiding place, Volvagia was sent spinning up high into the air from the sheer intensity of the Aegir-filled strike before swiftly coming back down. In pulling his left and right fists back Link began to slowly widen his eyes, a similarly fiery-red kind of aura filling his body. Finally, as Volvagia at last came within range, Link merely expelled forth an effort-filled yell as he slammed his two open palms against its flying body savagely.

DROOM-KRRR-SPLASH

In a daring and grandiose manoeuvre indeed the screaming dragon was sent careering across the platform's dirty-shaded ground and straight into the ocean of lava ahead of them.

"W-Woah...," Navi's surprised and even intimidated little squeak came from the sky next to the recovering Link; rotating his arms in a clockwise motion he narrowed his oceanic eyes after his fallen enemy. "How'd you do that?"

"It's not difficult...," the young blonde admitted, taking a deep breath in as if to regain his strength. "Once you learn how to use certain types of Aegir."

Listening in with mixed reactions both Sheik and Raynard's faces depicted a contrasting pair indeed; while the watching Sheik seemed to be somewhat impressed and perhaps even revered the glaring Raynard scowled with some sense of revulsion and resentment.

SCREECH

"Watch out!"

Harking true to the little guardian fairy's warning the trio of men turned their eyes to the front only to find the angry-voiced lizard-king gliding high up into the sky, seemingly having recovered from its earlier damage.

"What's it...?" Link trailed off, furrowing his brow in a display of concentration as he watched the snake-like form of Volvagia endlessly twist and turn high into the sky.

"Oh no...," Sheik murmured, crimson eye widening in an unhealthy mixture of realisation and horror. "Scatter!"

"Why?!" Raynard threw over his shoulder urgently, raising a black eyebrow.

Before the Sheikah commander could even respond vocally the young Van Garrick's question was soon answered.

CRASH

By the sudden sound, and appearance, of a rock.

"Rock slide!"

Turning to weave in and out of the wide array of falling molten boulders, Raynard and Sheik found themselves moving quickly in their attempt to keep out of harm's way. In spite of this however the frowning Link merely shot his right clenched fist down in a downward punch.

DROOM-VRRRR

In a defensive effort the narrow-eyed Hero of Time managed to bring up a spherical shield of Quintessence. Although it was transparent in nature not even a single molten mineral managed to get through; as they drew close and collided with the bulwark they blew apart in a beautiful show of sparks and lava. Watching from within the protection her partner offered her, Navi's eyes widened behind her little blue form at the fast-approaching form of their enemy.

"He's coming back!"

Having successfully been alerted the firmly-frowning Link snapped his hard-eyed glare up to meet with the arrow-like form of Volvagia. Grabbing the Megaton Hammer off his belt he pulled it back with his left arm and narrowed his eyes, seemingly concentrating.

"Link? What are you-?"

Despite her enquiry her hard-eyed partner found himself following through with his action; a mixture of fiery and wind-like elements began to circulate his body and, by association, the hammer itself. Eventually, once the dragon reached a certain height, Link at last let loose his leverage; yelling with effort he pulled back and tossed forward the Megaton Hammer within his grip barbarically. All combatants turned their heads to watch, near unable to believe the sheer sight of what they saw; last, of course, was the wide-eyed dragon itself.

Turning its burning-eyed gaze upward from its downward flight it could only stare ahead at the incoming holy silver, emblazoned with wind and fire-elemental Aegir.

CLANG-SKRRR-CLATTER

In screeching heavily and painfully with the divine hammer, Volvagia was successfully shot straight out of the sky. As it descended down its pathway was diverged by the strike it turned to fall in an agonised twist and turn. Watching from a safe distance the shock-faced Sheik and Raynard could barely find words with which to voice their surprise; staring on from one end of the battlefield they could only merely exchange an unsure look with one another.

Marching on toward his fallen adversary with a deliberate carefulness in his manner Link bent down briefly to pick up the resting Megaton Hammer before standing imposingly over the growling Volvagia. Reaching up in vain to scratch and slash at him, the ancient dragon offered its hostility to him in an impressive show of moxie and rage. Narrowing his oceanic eyes however Link rose up his bare right foot and slammed it down on the lizard-kin's neck. Gasping aloud with widened eyes beneath its helmet Volvagia's initial last-laid resistance began to fall, allowing the wide-eyed Link to follow through with his final counter-attack. Rising up the Megaton Hammer with both arms he grunted in an echoing savage scowl before bringing it singing down on his enemy's skull.

WHEEEE...

CRACK-CRUNCH-SQUELCH

In a sickening and echoing smother Volvagia gave one echoing screech before seemingly attempting to turn its flight back upward. Merely watching in his hardened cold gaze Link witnessed his enemy give its last bit of strength to scream cacophonously. Almost as if realising its end, Volvagia's form at last began to burn up into the already volcanic atmosphere the group resided in. Eventually the youth found only broken bones of his deceased adversary to match the final skull laying at his feet.

CRASH

"Well..."

Turning his straw-haired head up to match the curiousness his facial expression took, Link swivelled his frown 'round to face the voice of his guardian fairy.

"That's one way to deal with that."


	31. Frigid Waters

Chapter 31: Frigid Waters  
Drought of the Hylian Waters Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Neutiquam Erro" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Chamber of the Sages" - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"Ice Cavern" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"Severnaya Surface (I)" - Goldeneye 007 (N64) OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

In a daring manoeuvre indeed the group of freedom fighters working within the resurrected Hylianis Militaris Ordinis use their limited resources and manpower in an attempt to infiltrate the infected Fire Temple. Formerly of royal religious Hylian lineage, the divine Fire Temple has become tainted through the evil the Dreadlord Dragmire breathes into it. In utilising his overwhelming military numbers, king Ganondorf manages to lay his oppression boldly upon the poor Goron race; kidnapping most of them he imprisons them within the divine dungeon before using his warlock powers to resurrect the fallen ancient dragon, Volvagia.

With the intention of using his ruthless methods to send a wide message to other races across the country, Ganondorf effectively manages to subjugate the once-powerful race of mountain dwellers. However, thanks to the timely intervention of Sheik's small rebellion force, the Gorons' fates are saved; not only do they manage to rescue each and every Goron man, woman and child but they even successfully beat down the resuscitated lizard-king, Volvagia.

Not all is well however for during their infiltration Link, Navi and Darunia all come into contact with Scaverin; former man of the Hylian religious cloth and right-hand to Hyrule's new usurping king Ganondorf. In utilising his latest technique to bring back from the dead the fallen Barkner, he manages to stir the pot rather well between the previously well-maintained friends that are Link and Darunia. Having revealed the horrific truth of Barkner's gruesome death at the hands of the villainous Kage Narumono the trust between the sworn brothers, Link and Darunia, is shaken to its very core.

In spite of this however the pair manage to fight through the resurrected corpse regardless and push back the hateful Scaverin back to his master's side. Now having even saved Death Mountain's inhabitants and eliminated the immediate threat to their country's safety, Sheik and his small band of heroes manage to embolden the sickened and sorrowful people of Hyrule once more and, like gears in a clock, slowly begin to tick once more...

\--

Scene 1

Gloop... splash...

Water, Link thought to himself.

I should know where I am... and yet...

Glup...

As the inky whiteness slowly began to fade out the familiar sight of the Chamber of the Sages at last formed around him. A dull hum echoed out before him and, just like Saria before him, an adult's form began to circulate around one of the many islands in the dimension.

When Link realised who he was staring at he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

I should have seen this coming, he thought.

The firmly-frowning form of Darunia stared on back at him, seemingly similarly unamused.

"Brother...," the Goron chief greeted, a saddened frown resting on his rocky lips. "Thank you..."

Surprised by the man's words Link couldn't help but raise up his blonde eyebrows in response.

"For what it's worth...," the Goron leader chuckled lightly, a wan smile upon his expression. "My people's lives... have all been saved... thanks to you."

Though his genuine kind nature suited the wanly smiling Goron it did little to shake off the guilt hanging on the listening Link's face.

"I'm... sorry, Darunia...," he murmured out, oceanic eyes averted from his companion's own. "I should have told you..."

"It would not have made any difference...," the well-meaning, chuckling Goron man merely shook his head of the matter, a smile on his face. "He... forgave you... didn't he?"

A few seconds of uneventful and awkward seconds passed between the pair of men as the listening ex-Kokiri thought on about his words before, finally, nodding back. "He did... I wish that I hadn't-"

"Kage."

Similarly surprised by the little cobalt fairy's sudden intervention both Darunia and Link swerved their heads up to frown at the ball of blue.

"It was Kage that killed Barkner. Not you, Link." She clarified for the small group, a firm tone in her voice almost as if to discourage disagreement.

"Yeah...," the blonde chuckled back in an affirming nod, his eyes briefly shut as he did so. "Yeah I guess it was..."

"I admit... I was angry with you," Darunia at last gave voice to; the listening Link double-took in his direction, eyebrows rising up. "But that's all passed now...," the Goron chief ended in a warm smile, shaking his head lightly as he did. "Just as he did... I forgive you."

Link's eyes widened, just a little, shocked by the man's brutal honesty. "Y-You're serious... aren't you?"

Darunia merely nodded lightly, his warm smile still upon his face.

Uttering a half-relieved laugh Link shook his head back, as if in some form of disbelief. "You're a better man than me Darunia..."

"Oh, stop that...," the Goron chief smiled in return, similarly shaking his own head in response as if to dissuade the youth's claims. "After all... you're the princess Zelda's Hero of Time now! Aren't you?"

Reminded once more of the woman that manipulated him seven years previous, Link's smile soon weathered away in place of a recognisable and indignant frown.

"Yeah... I guess I am..."

"And a hero needs a medallion," Darunia smirked back knowingly, a nod upon his expression. "It contains the power of the sacred fire spirits... and my unconditional friendship..."

FLASH-SHIIIING

Just as with his childhood companion the sages' chamber lit up in a grandiose flash of light, as if to signify the end of their conversation. As the whiteness eventually began to fade Link turned his half-shut eyes up to the source of the great bright light; as it descended down, it was just as Darunia described.

The Fire Medallion.

Just as with Saria before him, Link couldn't help but feel the fiery aura of power from the ornament travel through and mingle with his own aura of Quintessence. Even as he felt it strengthen its grip to him he shut his eyes for fear of the incoming second white flash of light. As it overcame his vision only the sound of Darunia's voice, somehow far-off, stayed with him.

"Don't forget... now you and I are true brothers!"

~

Shivering from the deeply-cold temperature all around him, the hard-eyed Alwyn slid across the freezing floor beneath him and ran his fin-like blade on his forearm across the cold air on his left.

SLICE-SQUELCH

In a surprising turn of events the frigid oxygen actually let out a pained cry of all things before, very quickly, forming a rectangular shape.

A Freezard.

Breaking apart in a magnificent show of icy shards and other such debris it gave out one final low-toned grunt of agony before finally disappearing from view, apparently having been laid to rest. Recovering from his earlier assault Alwyn stood up straight and rose his left attacking arm vertically before lowering it, as if in re-establishment.

It's been a lonely seven years, the former Zoran captain thought to himself as he narrowed his eyes down at the Blade Trap. Watching it travel 'round in a constant never-ending circle, the Zoran warrior couldn't help but sigh through his nose before he about-turned to continue on down the Ice Cavern's many halls and corners.

Having been quite possibly the last Zoran left alive in the ruthless usurping and takeover of the country of Hyrule, Alwyn remained alive purely through running and hiding.

Through his time in the military even he knows never to challenge those with far too much power...

And king Ganondorf, the Dreadlord Dragmire, was of just one such subject.

Pressing on through one of the very last corridors before him Alwyn narrowed his eyes and forced his rising tension down when he heard the sound of the door slamming shut behind him.

DROOM

Along with the metal spikes to deny him re-entry and exit came the crushing fear that something was attempting to ambush him.

I can feel it all around me, he thought.

In spite of the growing danger he sensed the room he stood in was quite beautiful indeed; numerous sparks of icy-cobalt dust rested 'round his surroundings to match the dazzling diamond-like sculptures of ice littered 'round the corners of the room. Almost as if reading his very thoughts however the sparkly ground before him began to move and his eyes double-took in its direction as it did. Sure enough the sleek form of a white-furred wolf-like creature seemed to materialise up from the ground beneath him, perfectly camouflaged.

"AWOOOO!"

Alwyn's firmly-creased scowl twitched as the creature's echoing battle cry reached his ears. "A White Wolfos... huh...?" The former soldier began before tilting his head thoughtfully at the hostile creature. "Someone clearly doesn't want intruders in here..."

Moving on his own voice the wolf-like monster leapt for him, its right paw held back for assault. Acting quickly Alwyn twisted his body to avoid the vertical swipe before spinning 'round in a deft roundhouse kick.

SLAM

Hit with enough force to make the White Wolfos re-think its plan of action, the lupine animal grunted as it was sent skidding back across the cold icy floor. Narrowing its hellish-red eyes at the older warrior it hopped to its right side, an odd glare in its face. Surprising the watching Zoran however the Wolfos' form slowly began to phase in and out of existence.

It's using the cold air to camouflage itself, Alwyn thought worriedly.

Calm down, he countered his paranoid ruminations.

It's just an instinctual animal...

… even if it was placed here by someone else sentient enough.

Just as he had half-expected the frigid wind behind him was the very first clue that gave his enemy's position away; snapping his narrowed eyes to his far-left side the Zoran survivor ducked to evade the growling wide swipe the Wolfos behind him executed. Spinning round in a 360 degree sweep he managed to knock the lupine-like creature off its well-toed grip; acting further on his increased pressure the experienced warrior spun a second time in his sweep before stabbing his left sharpened elbow-fin directly into the Wolfos' exposed chest.

"AWOO!"

In an agonised echoing howl the snow-furred wolf screamed back at the teeth-grit scowling face of its enemy before swiftly slamming its lower paws into the man's upper chest. Successfully connecting it managed to send him grunting back to grant it valuable space and time; with it secured the hostile creature back-rolled to safety, a trail of bright boiling-red blood following on behind it. Watching carefully as he recovered Alwyn glared on wordlessly, waiting on for its next inevitable manoeuvre.

"Hmph...," he began lowly, shaking his broken-fin head in disapproving. "I can see you now..." The Zoran called out quietly, fully aware that the poor creature couldn't understand him.

True to his word he caught the super-fast sight of the Wolfos' blood trailing on after it; using it as a tracker he followed it with his eyes before swiftly moving in accordance with its own movements. In an angry growl it attempted, in vain, to lunge for him from the safety of its icy-breath camouflage, claws shining in the diamond-like light. Merely stepping to the side in evading Alwyn glared on before swiftly slamming his left lower fist directly up into the Wolfos' exposed and, already wounded, underside.

CRACK

Hearing the poor creature's bone breaking the experienced Zoran followed up with his counter-attack by raising up his right fist. Bringing it crashing down he managed to savagely increase the severity of the strike by including the sharp fin on his elbow with his deft assault.

SLICE-SMASH

Merely grunting as it was sent sprawling away from him the White Wolfos, seemingly finished, rolled across the floor before finally coming to a violent gory stop. Shakily raising up its shining clawed paws up to the sky in vain it gave out one final growl before, at last, a hot-blue aura encapsulated its form.

Seemingly the herald to end the engagement.

Relaxing his fighting stance Alwyn narrowed his eyes as the aura swiftly switched to a fierce cobalt fire, easily turning the fallen wolf-like creature alight. Even as it travelled from one world to the next the frozen ice beneath its form flashed and the watching Alwyn couldn't help but widen his eyes at the sight of something familiar.

Bright-blue earrings.

I know those earrings, he thought.

Stepping forward and kneeling down he glared over at the shocking sight beneath him.

Just as with his other comrades, there she was, auspiciously hidden far from every other Zoran and close to the surface.

Princess Ruto.

–

2

"Come now... do these people really warrant your hard-won loyalty and service?"

Asked this for what felt like the umpteenth time the frowning Raynard couldn't help but avert his eyes from the firmly confident voice.

"They... gave me a place to be; I owe them a lot."

"You owe them nothing," the man's voice shot back, venom laced through the tone of its scathing reply. "What have they done but ignore your clan's forgotten heritage?"

Unable to find some form of reply Raynard merely turned to face his back at the man, almost as if he was reading his very thoughts.

It chilled the dark-haired youth to his very bones.

"The Van Garricks were taken far too early... my son..."

Listening quietly, Raynard's narrow-eyed frown remained as constant as the firm-eyed glare.

"If only they appreciated you... as they truly should..."

"How do you know all of this...?" The hard-eyed mercenary countered, half-turning his eye to glare back at the cloaked schemer behind him. "It's not exactly public record..."

"Neither is the knowledge that I possess," the nameless voice shot back, a knowing grin in his voice. "What if I told you...," he began in a somewhat careful tone. "That they used your people to survive?"

About-turning fully now to face the foul-talking man Raynard narrowed his eyes in growing suspicion.

"W-Wha-?"

"In the coup... seven years ago...," the dark-hooded man began once more. "When the Gerudian king overthrew your monarch... who do you think was thrown to the wolves in order to preserve the royal bloodline?"

Widening his amber eyes as he listened Raynard could hardly believe his ears. Seemingly sensing his shock and suspicion the nameless voiced man chuckled in satisfaction.

"Who better to serve them than those whose morality transcends all notions of evil...?"

"Y-You're lying...," Raynard replied, shaking his head in response as if in disbelief. "Zelda would never..."

"Oh but she did my son...," the cloaked man chortled lowly as if in complete confidence. "You think that she wouldn't use you as she used that boy...?"

Knowing exactly who he was referring to Raynard couldn't help but soften his hardened frown as he thought of him.

The ally and, perhaps even friend, that he had made since Sheik recruited him.

Princess Zelda's 'Hero of Time'.

"Yes... her favourite pawn..."

Scowling in response Raynard found himself turning his eyes away in growing dislike for the young blonde.

Why him?

Why did she care so much about him?

"The question is never why, my son..."

Raising his spiky-haired head up the frowning mercenary raised his ebony eyebrows in light surprise.

"But how...?"

Quizzically, Raynard merely turned his head in response; an unsure frown etched on his expression. "W-Wha-?"

"It is time to make a choice... you have one last chance to show God your commitment..."

Furrowing his brow in a display of sincerity, Raynard gulped down a load of saliva that gathered around his throat.

"You know when we enact this... be ready by then."

With those confidently expressed words they echoed out into the distance as the cloaked man's form very slowly phased in and out of existence; seemingly disappearing.

The nameless schemer left the watching Raynard with a torn expression on his face.

~

"I don't much like this clothing..." Link complained for what felt like the umpteenth time, his fingers gripping the two sides of the Zoran Tunic he was gifted with broadly.

"Well it's all we have Link," Sheik sighed out back in response once more, an audibly tired tone in his voice. "You'll have to make do." He threw over his shoulder as he stuffed what appeared to be medical and sundry supplies into small bags for his belt. Turning his frown in a comical shift in response Link faced the dark-blue Zoran Tunic in his grip, as if disappointed.

"We should be grateful that we even have wonderful allies to gift us materials like these in the first place." Navi brightly added into the conversation, perched on the youth's shoulder.

"Now that's a sentiment I can empathise with very well." Sheik spoke over in an approving smile, eliciting a silly but well-meaning roll of the listening Link's eyes. As he did so however he caught the sight of the firmly-frowning face of Raynard stepping through the house in Kakariko Village that they used so often.

"Hope you got somethin' a bit nicer to look at Ray," Link shot over in a frowning greeting of his own. "Than this." The Hero of Time grimaced in an exaggerated grimace as he held up the sea-blue Zoran Tunic. In spite of their earlier discussion Sheik, although shaking his head as if in disapproval, couldn't help but chuckle; a happy and friendly tone.

"Ah...," Raynard managed out, a kind of dreamlike frown attached to his impassive expression. Quickly catching the sight of his allies' stares firmly on him he forced what appeared to be a slow, sad smile on his face before re-opening his mouth to finish his sentence. "Y-Yeah... I... should be fine with whatever."

Surprised by the odd tone of friendliness in his voice Link couldn't help but stare back at the young man. Similarly staring, Sheik shared his companion's curiosity by exchanging a look before finally shaking his head in response.

"Come on...," the Sheikah leader pressed on as he affixed his belt and marched on past the frowning Link. "Daylight's burning."

"Mm..." Link merely murmured with a half-disappointed crease in his face before bagging the cerulean tunic.

"I wonder what's wrong with Raynard?"

Surprised again Link couldn't help but raise a curious blonde eyebrow as he about-turned his head up to face the quietly-speaking guardian fairy on his shoulder.

"So I'm not just goin' crazy?" He asked in a similarly interested turn of his facial expression.

"Maybe it is nothing, but...," she began back in response before seemingly shaking her blue bulbous head. "I don't know; something seems so off."

Opting instead this time not to speak in retort Link turned one of his curious-expressed frowns upward to eye the back of his dark-haired comrade.

"Yeah...," he agreed with, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe."

–

3

"Okay... we've come far enough I think; leave the horses behind."

Although he very clearly heard the order Link couldn't help but issue out a light frown of disapproval. "Sorry girl but... them's the breaks." The Hero of Time lamented in a wan smile as he petted the snorting Epona he sat upon. Leaning to his left to leave his steed he hopped off and touched land on the lush-looking grass beneath his boots. Looking out across the distance to the beautiful land of Lake Hylia made him feel somewhat oddly homesick. Having already been here in his last stint to recover the country's sacred Spiritual Stones he remembered generally the full layout and all were in its usual place... except one noticeable thing.

The lake itself.

Just as Sheik had discussed with him earlier it would appear the Zoran people were, indeed, in quite a fix.

With his stranglehold on the country increasing since his initial usurpation in the year 709, king Ganondorf turned his attention to the fish-like Zoran people in an attempt to plunder their crystal-blue waters. In doing so he not only manages to instil yet more panic and fear into Hyrule's very citizens but even goes one step further and savagely freezes the small province over; faced with little strength to retaliate the Zoras resort to leaving their very home to survive and become travelling highwaymen.

Quite a comedown from the people I remember, Link reflected on silently to himself as he stepped down the open dirt incline beneath him after his two comrades.

I wonder how Ruto and Alwyn are doing he wondered idly, his eyes wandering down to the small pool of water far down the hill.

They're probably fine.

"You don't know that."

His own counter-attack made the youth wince.

"For all we know they're all dead."

It was probable, he added on silently.

This is a time of war, after all.

"Okay... this is close enough." Sheik spoke, bringing the blinking Link out of his quiet reverie long enough to return his attention to the matter at hand. Sure enough as the group of men descended down the open-dirt hill once filled with crystal-clear water they eventually came to the last of the liquid; a somewhat deep pool of water leading to what appeared to be another of the divine holy temples.

Link confirmed it when he clocked the symbol on the door below under the water.

The Holy Triforce.

"Link... you'll need those iron boots... and your instrument..."

Heeding his commander's instructions the listening blonde reached back into his belt for the royal-blue of the Ocarina of Time before bringing it up to his lips.

He didn't openly acknowledge the folded-armed stare that the watching Raynard gifted him with.

"A childish mind will turn to noble ambition...," Sheik began, similarly reaching back for what appeared to be the golden harp he played so well. "Young love... will become deep affection."

Listening intently Link gave the Ocarina of Time a single lasting look before turning back to face the similarly watching Sheik.

"Now... listen...," the Sheikah started before narrowing his boiling-red eye and bringing the harp up to his bandaged fingers. "To the Serenade of Water."

~

Stepping inside the very dungeon made within the bottom of Lake Hylia made the exploring Link feel sick in some odd sense; trudging his legs through the wavy waters of the undersea he walked through made him grimace in effort.

How do Zorans do this, he thought to himself wistfully.

What was even worse were the hard-worn iron boots that Sheik had gifted him with hanging on the edge of his normally light brown boots. Disrobing himself of the heavy wear however he gasped as he broke the water's surface. Seemingly having reached the top before him the narrow-eyed Raynard looked on down at him in his usual folded-armed expression. Reaching down to offer him a hand however, their red-eyed commander knelt down lightly; accepting it gratefully Link rose up to meet the pair, gasping through the bubbles of water that weighed him down.

"So what's the plan?" Raynard began the conversation as the trio stood within the confines of what appeared to be the smallest lobby ever. "Same as last time? We split up?"

"Well...," Sheik began in a light grunt as he pulled himself up from the ground alongside his similarly blonde companion. Dusting himself off he nodded in acknowledgement. "That appears to be the best course of action."

"What if that old prune's waiting for us here?" The dark-haired mercenary countered in a hard-eyed frown.

"Pfft...," Link shot back as he stood up straight, waving his comrade's comment off disarmingly. "I'm more worried about that dream woman." He half-joked in a comical deadpan turn of his frown. Though he was previously made aware of the subject in discussion the listening Raynard merely silently frowned back.

Link double-took in the quiet Sheik's direction however; behind the usually mysterious look the Sheikah leader possessed, an odd kind of blush appeared to be present on his cheeks.

The watching Link was interrupted before he could even point this out however.

"Shouldn't we expect them to react? I mean we've done this twice already." Navi agreed on with the firmly-frowning Raynard.

"Maybe...," Sheik conceded in a light nod. "But at this rate we'll lose our supply of water within the month; we have to move in as quickly as we can to save as many lives as we can."

–

4

"Y-You... it can't be..."

Similarly surprised by the woman's words – and all spoken underwater no less – the submerged Link widened his eyes back at her.

A Zoran woman stood before him, her left hand resting idly on her hip. The fins on her forearms were similarly beautifully formed and seemed to move in time with the deep sea they spoke under. She wore a similarly elegant pair of earrings that fit well with the deep-cobalt of the water around them. Finally her head was one of the most recognisable features of all.

In spite of all the years between them, somehow, Link knew exactly who it was.

Ruto stared back at him.

"I don't believe it...," she mouthed out, her ruby-like eyes widened. "Link?!"

Though he opened his mouth to speak back at her he found he could only manage out pure bubbles of air.

Thank Din the Zoran Tunic at least helps me breathe down here, he thought gratefully.

"Sorry... I guess it's hard for a Hylian down here huh?" She grinned back at him; a nostalgic kind of grin that reminded him of when they first met.

Oh no, he thought, widening his eyes a second time.

Didn't I promise her something?

And now... I'm older...

"You remember me don't you?" She asked, tilting her head at him; a funny kind of knowing look in her eye as she did. "You know... I never forgot those vows we made to each other... seven years ago." She finished, seemingly reading his mind.

Link couldn't help but grimace back in response.

What can I say to her?

That I did it as a necessity?

She'd kill me, he thought half-jokingly.

"You're a terrible man to have kept me waiting... these long seven years...," she claimed, her smile still apparent on her face. "But I suppose now is hardly the time... huh?" Ruto added, her smile taking a well-meaning turn with the tilting of her head.

Link merely stared back at her in a comically annoyed frown, seemingly unable to vocally respond to her.

"You've seen it, haven't you? Zora's Domain... and everywhere else."

The listening Hero of Time adopted a new serious frown to his expression as he nodded silently in acknowledgement.

"If it wasn't for Alwyn and your resistance's leader... I probably would have ended up just like my countrymen." She lamented, lowering her ruby-like gaze in a saddened frown of her own.

Link couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as the name crossed his ears.

Alwyn was alive?

"We have to save the rest of them," Ruto firmly scowled as she re-rose her head back up in what appeared to be determination. "My father... the other Zoras..."

Though he averted his own gaze in a display of insincerity Link couldn't help but agree.

His hands, after all, were tied.

"I need your help, Link...," she pressed as she stepped toward him, an urgent look in her eye. Link shot his own gaze back up to narrow his eyes suspiciously, inadvertently taking an ironed step back. "This is a request... from wife to husband..."

Husband...?!

Although he had remembered the deal he had made with her back in his childhood, hearing it being spoken felt shocking regardless.

How odd, he thought.

"There are certain infected rooms here that, if we clear them all, I'm sure that we'll overwrite whatever evil magic that dreadful king has imposed on our people," Ruto explained, a hateful scowl on her tone as she spoke of the country's ruler. "Are you ready?" She asked, a hopeful smile on her face as she took the young man's left hand into her own.

Sighing through the water he stood submerged in, Link couldn't help but offer the Zoran princess back a smile of his own before finally nodding back at her.

~

"There's no way that Hylians built this."

Just as Raynard had began in his opening statement, as the duo of adventurers entered the wide room before them, they beheld the odd architecture before them.

Strangely, no buildings of any real kind besides the door behind lay before them.

Only a single island in the centre of the wide area decorated with a single seemingly dead tree to match the beach-like sand beneath it. Dotted all around the wide open space was one wide toe-deep shallow pool of water.

"It certainly looks very strange...," Sheik agreed as he narrowed his boiling eye forward suspiciously at the tree ahead of them. Oddly, a figure appeared to be leaning against the tree, encased in darkness. "Maybe... there's a reason for that..."

Turning his amber-eyed frown 'round to face his commander, Raynard traced his gaze and soon realised what the Sheikah was referring to. Pulling out his steel halberd he narrowed his own eyes as the pair slowly began to advance. Ostensibly sensing their approach the figure leaned up off the tree and about-turned to face the pair; surprised, Sheik and Raynard affixed themselves into a battling stance. As the light at last hit the mystery-figure they got to look at the creature's odd blue skin.

"A Zoran...?" Sheik murmured out, brow furrowing forward. "What the-?"

"What the hell's a Zora doing way down here?" Raynard cursed out as he pointed the blade-end of the halberd directly at the scowling-faced Zoran.

It appeared to be a man and with a noticeable impalement across the once long fin he carried over his head.

I think I know who this is, Sheik thought to himself.

"It's... not hostile... I think...," the Sheikah began in response as he narrowed his eye forward. "Are you... waiting here for someone friend?"

"He is no friend... I promise you."

Snapping their heads 'round to source of the voice's interruption, sure enough, the cloaked form of their familiar enemy stepped out from behind the tree. Grinning behind the dark-brown shawl he wore so well the right-hand to the Dreadlord Dragmire flashed his toothy grin as he stood behind the folded-armed Zoran man.

"It is lovely to see you both again...," Scaverin greeted as he bowed mockingly at the pair of youths. "I see your travels have taken you deep into the divine Water Temple now...," he re-started as he stood back up straight, raising a curious eyebrow in obvious sarcasm. "Now... just where is that boy of yours?"

"What boy?" Sheik spat back quickly, eye narrowed in venom.

Scaverin scoffed back at the Sheikah blonde, a new half-scowl on his own face as he opened his mouth to respond. "Come now... let's stop these machinations... we're busy men after all; you know of whom I speak...," the summoner started before narrowing his hazel-eyed gaze forward. "Your 'Hero of Time'... where is he?"

Seemingly noting the annoyed look on the listening and watching Raynard, Scaverin couldn't help but turn his scowl temporarily into a lightly satisfied smirk, as if somewhat appeased by the reaction.

"We split up... if you must know," Sheik shot back, tilting his head very lightly as he leaned his body to the side and glared on back. "What's it matter to you anyway?" He batted back.

"Oh... no reason...," Scaverin began in response, folding his own arms back at the leaning Sheikah. "I'm sure Sir Alwyn would have loved to have met with his old friend again..."

Realising the name of the standing Zoran man before them Sheik could only widen his eyes and, with a similarly surprised gasp, he swivelled his gaze 'round to face him.

Sure enough, it was the hard-faced Alwyn standing before them. A firm look into his eyes gave the watching Sheikah enough time to deduce the odd look in the space around his eyes.

A rippling-like effect was present in the white space around his normally ocean-teal coloured eyes.

He's being governed somehow, Sheik thought.

This is bad.

"How unfortunate...," Scaverin began once more, one of his usual smirks ever prevalent on his face. "Forced to fight one's allies... you know this Zoran... don't you boy?" He pressed the narrow-eyed Sheikah.

He knows the odds are stacked against us.

Suddenly I wish we hadn't split up at the temple's lobby, he thought lamentably.

"All right Raynard...," he began himself as he stared firmly back at the mind-controlled form of the imposing Alwyn before them. "Same strategy as last time; divide and con-"

FLASH

Catching merely the hint of what appeared to gleam of steel to his sharp-left Sheik widened his flaming eye before making an emergency hop in evasion to his right. Skidding across the watery ground beneath him the young blonde managed to kick up blue-white drafts as he stared on shocked at his dark-haired ally.

Finding the firmly-faced Raynard staring on straight back at him, he held his halberd in what appeared to be a diagonally offensive manner.

It was most definitely just used in an attempt to cleave his commander.

"W-Wha...?" Sheik merely managed out, near unable to believe what he just witnessed. "Raynard... why...?"

The listening and silent mercenary merely glared on back at him, re-narrowing his amber-shaded eyes. Twirling his halberd up in his recovery he straightened up his stance to stare on silently back at the standing Sheikah. Watching and listening in the grinning Scaverin couldn't help but let out a boisterous laugh.

"Did you really think that your pathetic little band could actually put a dent into God's new design...?" The seemingly devoutly worshipping former bishop put forward; his smile was temporarily lost to him in favour of a serious and hard-worn scowl. "Fools...," he snorted, creasing his glare as he spoke. "It's like you require a higher mind to control you all."

Merely ignoring the folded-armed Scaverin's comments the firm-eyed Sheik repeated his earlier sentence, spoke this time with a real sense of hurt. "Raynard... why?"

Grunting back Raynard averted his gaze this time as he placed his halberd next to him via his left hand, sticking the hilt of the blade resting on the watery ground beneath him.

It would seem shame followed him, even to his enactment.

"I would be more concerned for yourself... young Sheikah."

Growling lowly Sheik swivelled his straw-haired head 'round back to re-face the scheming bald-headed summoner, fingering the throwing knives on his belt.

"How interesting that, though the Sheikah clans within this country are pushed to extinction, that you emerge... seemingly as if from no-where...?" Scaverin put toward the listening group, narrowing his hazel-coloured eyes in an obvious suspicious-toned speech. "Something within my bones tells me...," he restarted, lightly tilting his hooded head as he glowered forward. "That you're hiding one hell of a secret."

The odds were already stacked against me before and that was when I had a man on my side, Sheik thought to himself in growing panic and distress.

Now the situation truly seemed hopeless.

"Link...," the blonde Sheikah began within his mind, gulping down a load of saliva anxiously. "If you're out there... I could really use a hand..."


	32. Conquering Oneself

Chapter 32: Conquering Oneself; Making Peace  
Drought of the Hylian Waters Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Settling the Score" - Goldeneye (1995) OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Termination" - YS I & II Chronicles OST. Scene 4 (Second Half).  
"Last Moment of the Dark" - YS I & II Chronicles OST. Scene 5 (First Half).  
"Termination" - YS II (Falcom Boss Zanmai Ver.) OST. Scene 5 (Second Half).  
"Story Mode BGM (Kage)" - Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition OST. Scene 6.

–-

Despair for the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis; in one word...

Betrayal.

Having come this far in their gruelling venture to free their country from the tyrannical grip of their usurping ruler, the feared Dreadlord Dragmire, Hyrule's freedom fighters press on their previous success of the divine Forest and Fire Temples. Emboldened by their own accomplishments the group of men push on to assist the suffering Zoran people of Lake Hylia. In doing so they not only hope to re-gain their former sea-living allies but hope to preserve their own supply of fast-dwindling water.

Unfortunately for the group, however, Hyrule's regime forces at last make an indelible play on the proverbial board of chess that they play; in pulling at the group's weakest link, the brooding mercenary Raynard Van Garrick, Scaverin and king Ganondorf's military forces hope to destroy the alliance from the inside out.

With eventual fruition the king's right hand successfully manages to manipulate the detached sole survivor of the Van Garrick clan and, with it, manages to turn the tides of Hyrule's second civil war in one single stroke. Now faced with not only the surviving mind-controlled Alwyn and his former ally Raynard, the anxious Sheik can only blindly hope for some kind of divine intervention to save him.

Not all is bad fortune on the battlefield however, for in his own exploration of the divine Water Temple, the Hero of Time himself manages to come into contact with the missing Zoran princess Ruto. After a heartfelt reunion Link, Ruto and Navi all agree to join forces in an attempt to re-locate their split-up commander, Ruto's companion Alwyn and their dark-haired mercenary ally.

In spite of their previous successes however... Link cannot help but feel apprehensive at the prospect of running both into the loose Scaverin and his former companion Alwyn...

–-

Scene 1

"Haa... haa..."

Gasping from the sheer effort with which he put forth, Raynard narrowed his amber-shaded eyes down at the fallen form of his former ally. The unconscious Sheik lay down face-up in the pool of shallow water the group resided in.

"Impressive."

Surprised by the intruding voice the listening mercenary swivelled his dark-haired head 'round to eye the approaching Scaverin. His hands were joined together in the dark-brown cloak he wore so well as he arrived to the scene, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"You didn't even require any assistance...," the former bishop chuckled as he similarly eyed the comatose form of the blonde Sheikah. "You'll go far with those skills my son."

Merely huffing back in response Raynard let his new commanding officer know his mood.

Not one to be trifled with, at least in this moment.

"Get out of here..."

Surprised by his words, the listening Scaverin blinked back in response.

"Say what?"

"Get out of this area...," Raynard growled over his shoulder in a firm-eyed repeating. Glaring back, the listening former bishop allowed him to continue. "I'm going to unmask this manipulative coward... and I'd like to do it alone..."

"Hmph...," Scaverin murmured lowly, tilting his bald-headed form before lightly gaining a knowing smirk. "I can appreciate that...," the cloaked schemer shot back before about-turning and briefly shutting his eyes. "Come... Sir Alwyn," he urged the lifeless Zoran puppet at his side. "We must give them some alone time..."

Ignoring his new commander's teasing, the growling ebony-haired mercenary re-began his march and knelt down over the fallen form of his former ally. Though he stared back at the shut-eyed form of his former companion he just as quickly turned his eyes away from the fallen Sheikah's.

Push away the shame and doubt, he thought.

This goes deeper than that.

With that thought driving him on he reached down and, with narrowed chestnut eyes he undressed the blonde Sheikah via his turban and scarf.

The long light-sunset hair the Sheikah carried spilled on out to reveal a well-kept ponytail. When the watching Raynard at last managed to get a good look at Sheik's real face.

Behind the long white scarf he normally sported his facial features were very surprisingly feminine in nature; from his high cheekbones to the smooth skin he seemed to sport so well.

This isn't a man, he thought.

This is...

This is a woman...

It was then that Raynard realised exactly who this was.

Falling down to his rear in a wide-eyed open-mouthed frown, the shocked youth could barely form a word out to successfully register his disbelief.

Suddenly and, all at once, everything began to make sense; all the lies Sheik had told him in the past regarding his fallen clan, the manipulation of the rebellion and especially of her 'favourite' pawn.

The Hero of Time.

That's all these people were to her, he thought.

Disposable commodities.

The scowl he normally liked to wear upon his face grew and, with intense speed at that; mutating into a hateful look he stood back up to his feet and glared on down at the person he had once followed with such zeal that it now sickened him.

The commander he respected, admired...

And the woman he loved.

"Liar...," the sole survivor of the Van Garrick clan whispered out. "You're just...," he re-began before glowering on down hatefully at the blonde woman. "A liar..."

~

"I must say I am impressed with your growth darling; you really do look like a man now."

"Uh huh."

Rolling his cobalt eyes back as he sighed his usual response, Link did all he could to keep himself engaged in the conversation that princess Ruto so seemingly wanted to have with him.

The more she talked however the more he found he wanted to leave.

Maybe I have commitment issues, he thought half-woefully, a comical snort and grin adorned on his tone.

"What's so funny?" She scolded him with an annoyed gaze as she 'rounded her head to eye him mid-march.

"O-Oh uh...," the blinking Hylian managed back before chuckling good-naturedly and shaking his blonde-haired head. "Nothing." He laughed well-meaningly, waving the matter off. She narrowed her ruby-like eyes back at him suspiciously before relinquishing and re-facing the front.

Just the thought of being married was enough to make him sick.

As if that dream in the Fire Temple with the woman with perfume was bad enough, he thought embarrassedly.

Oddly enough he found he couldn't get the dream-like exchange with her out of his mind ever since.

Chances are very likely it was a dream.

But there's always the chance it wasn't.

"She did say she loved me..." He countered himself in a firm furrow of his brow, narrowing his eyes to match.

Sighing however, the Hero of Time blew a stray strand of straw hair from his sad-eyed gaze in a mixture of despair and frustration.

"Gotta be proof to the contrary."

"What's proof to the contrary?" Ruto pressed him. Realising he was thinking aloud, one of his many irritating bad habits, he silently cursed himself out for his error before attempting to think quickly. Before he could however his oceanic eyes widened as they double-took in the forward direction before them.

"That...," he clarified as he rose up his stubby right index finger to point ahead at the sight before them. "I guess..."

Ruto turned to trace his gaze and found the pair standing within an oddly wide open space; a shallow pool of water filled their surroundings, matched only by the odd beach in three separate locations. One beneath the pair of heroes' feet, one in the centre alongside the dead tree around it and one straight at the end of the room, similarly built to the entrance's with a door adjoining it.

"That's... strange...," Ruto raised one of her eyebrows in curiosity. "Do you...?"

Staring on with her Link's eyes narrowed in recognition when he caught the sight a group of standing figures.

Three.

A bad omen lifted the small hairs on the back of his neck.

"Yeah... I... see it," he clarified for her in an acknowledging nod. The air was filled with a penetrating kind of silence before, finally, Link opted to re-open his mouth to continue. "Navi... is it...?"

"I think so...," the guardian fairy similarly nodded quietly on his right side, similarly staring forward. "It looks bad."

Using her words as a cue Link half-turned his head to address the Zoran princess on his left. "Ruto... I need you to-"

"No way!"

Disarmed by the sudden ferocity her voice took the listening Link couldn't help but widen his eyes and raise his eyebrows up as he turned back to face her.

"I'm not going to end up on the sidelines again...," she emphasised with a hard narrow of her eyes before folding her arms and raising an eyebrow of her own. "Not like last time."

Sighing through his nose Link drew in air with his mouth before letting it out as he exchanged a tired look with the listening Navi.

Sometimes you just can't argue with a woman, he thought to himself in a mixture of half-joking wistfulness.

–

2

In approaching the suspicious group of three Link couldn't help but stay wary even with the added backup of the Zoran princess, ever loyally behind him. As he began to make the final arrival the figures at last stepped out from the very small shadow the tree offered them and the watching trio got a look at their alleged enemies.

"Ah... at last..."

Stiffening at the sound of that familiar voice, the listening Link narrowed his eyes as he tilted his body lightly, fingers twitching for the holy blade resting on his back. Sure enough the owner of the venom-laced voice revealed himself to be the low-smirking Scaverin, standing in between the low-stance Alwyn and the firm-faced Raynard.

"We've been expecting you...," the cloaked right-hand to Ganondorf smirked on in greeting before outstretching his bony old hand forward as if to be taken, tilting his bald head as he did. "Hero of Time."

"Link... it's definitely him..." Navi whispered at the blonde youth's right side.

"Yeah...," Link nodded in acknowledgement, eyes narrowing in his hardened frown. "I feel it..."

"Alwyn?" Ruto called forward from the back, raising a curious eyebrow up at the seemingly forgone Zoran warrior. "What's wrong with him?"

"Ah... the royal princess... yes...?" The watching Scaverin began as he stepped forward to gaze back at the Zoran woman. "Nothing's wrong with him, dear heart," the summoner grinned back before chuckling as he placed one of his slim hands to rest on the man's shoulders. "Sir Alwyn is better than ever... isn't that right?"

Almost as if in mocking the pair of heroes before them the low-stance form of the governed Zoran soldier merely stared on back silently, a kind of vacant look in his ocean-teal eyes.

"Where's Sheik?" Link demanded, a harsh narrow of his own oceanic eyes in response.

"Hmph..." The former bishop grunted back before lightly turning his bald head 'round to nod upward. Sure enough, a second figure stepped out from behind the tree and one that the watching Hero of Time managed to recognise. Link couldn't help but widen his sea-blue eyes as he realised exactly who it was standing next to his enemy.

"R-Ray...?" Link gasped back, his straw-shaded eyebrows rising up in surprise. Though the silent Ruto looked from between the pair unknowingly she listened on intently. "What's going on? Why are you-?"

"It's over Link...," Raynard interrupted the blonde with a deft shake of his head and a firm tone in the deep baritone of his voice. "Ganondorf is just... too strong for us to make any kind of dent in his military force," the young man clarified as he tilted his ebony-haired head determinedly. "You knew that."

With a light huff back Link similarly leant his body to the side as he stared back, narrowing his cerulean eyes. "I never took you for a defeatist Ray," the ex-Kokiri batted over, his own baritone taking a hostile turn. "What made you switch sides?"

"In a word...?" The quiet speaking Raynard began before swiftly narrowing his own eyes and creasing his face into a scowl of sheer hatred with it. "You." He finished out in a firm-eyed hiss.

Surprised by his retort Link could only furrow his brow in an inquisitive frown. "Me...?"

"Do you know how humiliating it was when you showed up...?" The mercenary began, stepping on past the watching and grinning form of his new ally. "I served... in that rebellion for seven long years... before you turned up...," the dark-haired warrior growled on out as he leant his head to the side in his angry tirade. "Zelda's favourite pawn...," he spat out venomously, glaring forward as he did. "That's exactly what you are." He hissed forward, his hatred barely veiled.

Turning his shocked expression into a light frown Link merely tilted his blonde head as he re-opened his mouth to respond. "So what now?" The Hylian pressed, stepping forward for the presumable face-off they were destined to have. Reaching up for the divine Master Sword hanging on his back he glared on back in a similar expression. "You going to give Sheik up or do I have to knock you senseless?"

Raynard's scowl twitched, but only very lightly as he listened. "I'd like to see you try." He challenged back, reaching similarly for his steel halberd.

"Darling no!" Ruto hissed out from the blonde youth's back. "Let me he-"

"No," Link merely interrupted as deftly as she had said it; the Hero of Time merely kept his narrow-eyed gaze fixed forward as he stared on back unflinchingly at his rival. "It has to be like this," he began back before furrowing his brow as he finished his sentence. "Just me... and him."

The listening mercenary's scowl twitched a second time but only very briefly. "Something I can get behind...," he began before grinning humourlessly. "For once..."

SHHHIIING...

The divine steel of the Blade of Evil's bane sung slowly and noisily as it was drawn out of its resting place, joined by its ever faithful companion; the bright-blue of the Hylian Shield. Similarly swinging the steel-singing halberd he carried so well 'round both of his sides, the narrow-eyed Raynard advanced very slowly and gradually to glare back at his blonde opponent.

"I'm gonna do...," the young wayward began as he turned his head to glare forward at his new enemy. "What I should have done... a long time ago..."

~

With frightening speed and agility the form of the glowering Raynard phased in and out of existence; a lasting after-image of his scowling form gave the watching and wide-eyed Link enough idea of where to expect an assault. Turning on his brown-booted heel Link back-dashed abruptly into the air, kicking up the shallow pool of water he stood in as he did; seemingly having attempted to attack the blonde from his undefended left side, the air-dashing Raynard grunted as he suddenly re-appeared in view. With a singing wide horizontal swing of his halberd he attempted to slash effectively and quickly at his opponent.

CLANG-SKRRR-TINK

In one incredible move the narrow-eyed Link clashed not only the Master Sword with his enemy's weapon but managed to push through the fiery sparks of confrontation they caused and sent the grunting Raynard back-flipping through the air. Pulling back the Hylian Shield in his right arm he narrowed his eyes directly at his target before grunting as he tossed forward the tool in a deft and wide motion.

WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

"Agh...!"

CLANG

In a pained grunt of effort the firmly-scowling Raynard attempted to bat back the flying Hylian Shield. Although he was successful he found his flight path was, thus, diverted to his lower right side; double-taking to his lower right he caught the super-fast sight of the low-running Link toward his landing position.

"Bastard...!" The dark-haired mercenary hissed in his grit-toothed scowl before swiftly bringing up his halberd in a defensive motion. Rounding the corner the narrow-eyed Link widened his oceanic eyes before suddenly erupting his body into a violent 360-degree spinning-strike.

BLAST-CLANG-SKRRR

Gasping as he was turned alight by his enemy's encased fire covering the blade and his form the grunting Raynard, though managing to defend as much blowback from the abrupt strike as much as possible, was still sent sprawling across the watery ground beneath him. Growling as he turned his free left hand down to the shallow-wet ground below he recovered by pushing off of it boldly to side-flip backward. Turning his black-look up to catch the sight of the flashing form of his foe the similarly scowling Raynard waited until just the right moment before making his move.

As the rush-down form of the narrow-eyed Link made his after-imaging approach his rival's chestnut-brown eyes widened before leaping to his right side. Successfully evading the diving Link's sweep attempt he also simultaneously counter-attacked by slamming a roundhouse into the young hero's face.

SMASH

"Grngh...!"

Sent into a spinning frenzy the shut-eyed Link twisted his pained scowl as he spun on seemingly endlessly. Acting on his gained momentum Raynard furrowed his brow and leapt up high into the air as he landed; pulling his steel-singing halberd back he grimaced his face as he began to plummet down at an incredibly high speed, his weapon down to make a final descending strike with. Even as he spun wildly through the air however the wide-eyed Link used his remaining free right hand to grasp at the watery landscape beneath him. Using it as a foothold he flipped up to a hand-standing position; surprised as he descended down to meet him Raynard opted not to change his movements and merely continued to drop down. Lowering himself temporarily Link narrowed his sea-blue eyes before grunting in effort as he slammed himself up straight into the sky, presumably to meet his high-flying foe. Spinning in an aerobatic somersault, the narrow-eyed Hero of Time spun the divine Master Sword 'round his left hand before gripping it with both arms, presumably for more strength.

As the pair began to approach one another Raynard, at least, realised his mistake.

The form of the frowning Link flashed in and out of the sky.

An after-image.

Gasping in wide-eyed horror, Raynard could do little but watch as he passed through the young Hylian uneventfully; seemingly having planned the entire exchange the agile Link re-appeared directly above the horrified form of his opponent.

SLAM

"Gurgh...!" Raynard managed out in a wide-eyed, agonising grunt; the concentrating form of his opponent hung in the air as he slammed his left elbow into the young man's back, temporarily slowing the pair's descent. Twisting through the rest of his counter-attack in the air Link grunted as he smashed his right boot across the dark-haired boy's side, causing him to spin around wildly. In a final acrobatic curve Link widened his eyes and yelled with effort as he finished with a spinning left back-kick, delivered deftly to his enemy's wide-eyed lower stomach.

SMASH-SPLASH

With impressive speed and strength the pair were sent singing back down to the watery ground beneath them; as Raynard coughed out in a wide-eyed, open-mouthed plea, the firmly-scowling faced Link remained suspended in mid-air, his left foot emblazoned on his opponent's chest. Time at last began to return to its normal flow for, as he choked on his earlier failure, the growling Raynard grappled at his opponent's exposed leg. Though he realised his own mistake, the watching Link was far too late to do much of anything about it; being pulled up through the air the wide-eyed Raynard screamed with an unhealthy mixture of anger and hatred as he hurled the blonde over his form.

CRASH-SPLATTER

"Hrngh...!"

Although the mercenary lost his tenuous grip on the falling Hero of Time he brought his rising sun kick to successfully and quickly drive his fallen weapon with enough force to swing back into the sky.

WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

Swiping at the air with his superior right arm he gripped the halberd's hilt in an expert scowl before channelling it directly with his blue-forming aura of Aegir. As the dull hum of his aura gave off its vibration, the narrow-eyed Raynard slammed the blade-end of his Aegir-coated halberd down into the watery ground beneath him. Seemingly reacting in kind with its touch, the far-connected shallow pool of water began to vibrate alongside the dull buzzing the glaring form of Raynard gave it; as the sprawling and rolling Link grunted in his endless twisting he at last used his right arm to push up off the ground in an effort to recover. Somersaulting in a side-flip the Hero of Time grunted through the bloody-face he now sported as a result of his former injuries.

As he landed however the blonde youth gasped on in an attempt to recover his lost breath, visibly fatigued. Noticing the water around him shine oddly and start to move in odd waves the narrow-eyed Hero of Time shot his gaze around in some attempt to work out what was going on.

"Link! He's going to-!"

SPLASH-DROOM

Screaming in horror, the watching Navi was blown back by the sudden explosion of Aegir that erupted between them; droplets of water and showers of white splashed high into the air and, caught within the blast, the grunting Link was sent careering back through the sky. Slamming directly into one of the few half-destroyed stone walls littering the outside of the battle arena, Link widened his eyes when he caught the spinning sight of the swinging-singing steel halberd that his opponent seemed to carry. Unable to move in time to evade it, it managed to successfully sink directly into his lower stomach, pinning him to the wall effectively behind him.

Time seemed to stop for the wide-eyed youth; coughing out in wide-eyed horror, blood visibly escaped from his mouth and from the newly-fresh wound laying beneath him.

This was it, he thought.

They'll turn on Ruto and Navi after this...

And Sheik will die.

Just as he finished his last seeming thought the gasping form of Raynard began to approach the pinned form of the fallen Hylian. Similarly tired and fatigued from the battle, the dark-haired mercenary glared forward as he stepped toward the bound Link.

"F-Finally...," he gasped out before flashing a grin back at the grunting, scowling Link. "You know, Link...," he started again, sweat dripping his brow. "I was always better..."

Unbeknownst to the spiky-haired youth however, the sea-blue of his enemy's eyes very slowly began to change.

From the calming cerulean of the ocean...

… to the hellish crimson of blood itself.

Stepping forward, Raynard gripped at the hilt of his halberd on the side and rose his eyebrows up, surprised.

What the hell, he thought.

Finding himself unable to pull it out he growled as he yanked at it roughly.

SKRRRRRRRR...

Widening his eyes and positively frightened by the sudden jarring sound, Raynard snapped his chestnut-eyed gaze up to find the freshly-faced grinning Link pulling his opponent in by the halberd's blade itself.

"W-Wha-?!"

Barely unable to register his bewildered shock any further, the watching Raynard could only watch as he himself also was pulled forward by his enemy's action.

"Shin'ozo...," the newly red-eyed form of the fiery-haired Hylian began in bloody-faced greeting. "Tomete KURERU!"

–

4

DROOM-FLASH

In an incredible display of fireworks, the explosion of fire-style Aegir that the standing form of Link gave off was enough to force the young Raynard to back-dash away to safety. Their bated breaths held back as they watched, the group consisting now of the narrow-eyed Raynard and the far-off Scaverin and Alwyn kept their stares as consistent as the wavy water that travelled around their ankles.

Finally, as the dust and smoke settled, the low-grinning fanged form of the devil-like incarnation stepped out, merely dropping the divine Master Sword at his feet as if it were nothing more than a useless trinket.

CLANG

Kage Narumono stood imposingly and impossibly across from the glaring-faced Raynard.

Confirming his fabled identity by the telltale signs; the boiling-red eyes, the similarly-shaded fiery-red hair, the sharp fang-like canines in his mouth and even the elongated claws on his hands Raynard knew exactly who this was. Swivelling his head 'round to face his new ally and commander he narrowed his chestnut-brown eyes back at the summoner.

"There! He's out!" He called over. "I did it!"

Seemingly opting not to speak in response the watching Scaverin merely tilted his bald head in his low smirk, his cloaked arms remaining folded.

"Hey!" Raynard called angrily, his eyebrows rising up to match his new-found irritation. "I did what you wanted! I brought out that freak!"

Just as before the listening Scaverin left very little to the imagination in his smirking silence; giving the watching black-haired boy a knowing low chuckle the former bishop seemed to convey his intentions. Raynard's eyes widened when he realised them.

He's going to make me fight this thing, he thought.

Having given almost everything in his energy to fight the Hero of Time before him Raynard very quickly found his fatigue kicking in.

There's no way I can do this, he thought anxiously.

His dark-brown eyes shot down to catch the sight of Kage's seeming earlier wound having been healed with monstrous speed.

The power of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai.

"If I survive this...," the mercenary began, a low tone to his voice before he about-turned his eye on his new commander threateningly. "You're next."

"Oh I'm not concerned about that...," Scaverin chuckled knowingly, a satisfied grin plastered on his face. "Boy."

~

Last of the Van Garrick Clan – Raynard Van Garrick

In a desperate move indeed the black-haired Raynard shot ahead in a grunting, wide diagonal slash attack with his steel halberd. Opting not even to move to evade it the glaring Kage merely shot up his right red-aura fist and caught the blade mid-swing.

CLANG-SKRRR

Gasping in wide-eyed shock the watching Raynard struggled indefinitely in an effort to remove his weapon from his enemy's burning clutches.

"Taoreta ichizoku no zangai...," Kage began, his right fist twitching intensely from the fierce grip he held on the halberd. Widening his hellish-red eyes however he strengthened his hold on the weapon before re-opening his mouth to match the rise in power his cloak of fiery-red Aegir gave him. "MESSATSU!"

CRACK-CLATTER-SMASH

"Agh...!"

Raynard, sent stumbling back a few steps from the sheer force at which his opponent gave back to him, was left reeling from the impact. At last recovering he rose his eyebrows up in horror when he realised the weapon he carried broke from the force his enemy gave him.

This is bad, he thought.

"Real fuckin' bad...!" He finished his stressed rumination by gritting his teeth and turning his wide-eyed frown up only to find his opponent missing somehow. "Wha-?!"

SMASH-CRACK

In an agonised mixture of what sounded like a cough and a gasp the wide-eyed Raynard was sent stumbling back a second time, visibly knocked upward off his feet by the sheer strength of his enemy below him; standing in a low-held position, Kage Narumono's right fist lay embedded deep within the black-haired mercenary's chest, seemingly knocking him directly upward. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl for the pair of warriors as they remained in their unmoving position; Raynard in his wide-eyed, open-mouthed agonised pain and the glaring-faced, narrow-eyed Kage Narumono. At last the demon acted on his momentum however by following up his low strike with an effort-filled back roundhouse kick to the face.

"HNGH!"

CRASH

Grunting in great agony Raynard was sent sprawling and wildly spinning through the air; droplets of blood from his open mouth followed on after him, staining the once pristine watery-blue of the ground beneath them. Widening his eyes however the black-haired youth shot one of his arms down to recover with; grappling at the watery ground below he grunted as he pushed up off of it into a deft somersault backward. Landing in a hard-eyed glare the watching Raynard very quickly shot off almost invisibly to his sharp-right, leaving all form of common eyesight.

The glowering Kage darted his hellish-red eyes off in quick search for the fast-moving form of his enemy; appearing as if from no-where, the wide-eyed mercenary yelled with effort as he shot toward the demonic warrior in a deft leaping knee strike. Raising up his own knee to defensively counter the wide-eyed Raynard Kage merely stared back at the gasping mercenary, raising a fiery-red eyebrow up as he did.

"Is that all...?" He hissed ahead through his fanged canines. Unable to register his visible horror and fright Raynard could only stare back, his eyes twitching from the sheer dread of what was to come. Reaching forward with his left clawed hand Kage widened his own eyes as he pulled his enemy combatant toward him; the abrupt force of which caused the ebony-haired youth to gasp in terror.

CRACK

The pair shouted out, one in a barbaric yell and the other in a panicked and pained howl as the grit-toothed Kage smashed his head brutally into Raynard's own. Reaching forward once more with his left arm, the glaring-faced demon grabbed his opponent's head by his hair and dragged him across the watery ground viciously. The force with which Kage put into his ruthless manoeuvre managed to draw blood and trail it along the wavy waters beneath them, staining its once pristine blue.

With intense effort the narrow-eyed Kage grunted as he pulled back his victim before tossing him with great force high vertically into the air above him. As the screaming mercenary was sent careering up the glaring Kage 'rounded his muscular arms around himself as the ground began to shake. The very shallow pool of water he stood in started to convulse alongside the very earth itself and, as ripples in the water formed, a boiling-red fiery aura of Quintessence coated the narrow-eyed Kage's form.

As the heavily fatigued and wounded form of the vulnerable Raynard at last descended within range, Kage Narumono roared in a hateful battle cry as he shot forward his Aegir-infused pair of fists.

"MESSATSU!"

In that final assault Kage managed to finish off the wide-eyed and gasping Raynard; perhaps unable to find his voice from the sheer divine amount of agony he went through, his mouth remained shut as he was sent careering off into the watery surface below. His body sprawled, rolled and even trailed blood horribly as the poor betrayed youth's travel at last came to an end; halting as his body approached the beach-like formation that the smirking Scaverin and his emotionless soldier stood on.

"Hmph...," the previously silent summoner hummed lowly before upturning his smirk even higher than before. "Impressive."

–

5

"S-So I was just...," the agonised Raynard managed to sputter out, his tone as ragged as the great physical pain he displayed. Blood covered most of his open wounds, dyeing the cerulean pool around him a darkened coral-red. "Just another puppet...?"

Looking on down at his recently deceased ally the smirking Scaverin chuckled as he merely nodded back in response. "To me?" He asked, almost as if for clarification before chortling a second time and narrowing his eyes. "Of course."

Coughing violently from the agony he suffered Raynard caked his surroundings in his lifeblood, miserably groaning as he turned his eye to the seemingly endless sky above.

"What a fool...," the mercenary lamented, a sad look in his eye as he spoke. "I-If I had just...," he began again, the look in his eye becoming glassy, as if approaching the end. "Not let... this take... hold of me, then..."

As his baritone managed out its final echo, the light behind his eyes at last began to fade away, signalling his death.

"And the rebellion are down one more man; such a pity," the watching Scaverin threw in with a light grin. The growling Kage 'rounded his hateful scowl on the older man, narrowing his hellish-red eyes at him. "Settle down now...," he began once more before nodding his bald-headed skull forward, as if to direct him. "There is, after all, one more to deal with."

Grunting in his fanged scowl the demonic Kage about-turned only to find the horrified-faced princess Ruto staring back at him, seemingly having been previously shocked into silence.

"Hmph...," the watching Kage growled back, grit-toothed scowl and all before swinging his fiery-haired head back to face his old enemy. "Weak...," he shot back before licking his lips hungrily and upturning his scowl into a light grin. "The time has come, old man... at last," the demonic warrior grinned forward as he began to stalk forward, as if the cloaked schemer was but mere prey to him. "You are next..."

"Very well..." The newly firmly-frowning Scaverin replied in his folded-armed expression before slowly unfolding them and raising up his arms.

The pool of water in which they all stood in slowly began to convulse, surprising the wide-eyed Kage; in quick action he managed to keep his foothold by slamming his right boot into the ground, eyes narrowed. As time drew out like a blade, eventually, something formed out of the water directly before the cloaked old summoner. Watching with a furrowed brow of concentration the demonic Kage glared on silently.

"Now...," the glaring Scaverin re-started, a dangerous look in his eye. "Come forth!" He called out, eyes widening. As if in response the form beneath them commenced in rising up; a strange gel-like tentacle of gooey water. "Morpha!"

"Morpha...?" The watching Kage muttered out, raising a curious eyebrow at the eye-like nucleus that travelled up and down the long tentacle-like form.

"Oh no...," Navi murmured in growing realisation. "Get out of the way; he's going to-!"

"Oh yes!" The laughing Scaverin interrupted the far-off little guardian fairy before widening his eyes and re-opening his mouth. "Now Morpha! Extract it!"

Lowering his stance to a defensive position the narrow-eyed Kage Narumono was in no way ready for the odd assault that was to take place; the giant aquatic amoeba suddenly shot forward, as if directed somehow by its caller. Wrapping its long gooey appendage 'round the grunting and growling demon it, very slowly, began to inch the top end of its body into the villain's mouth. Squeezing down on his body it forced an angry scream from him to do just that and, as it did, the wide-eyed Kage found himself grunting and gagging from the sheer force of it.

"No! Link!"

"Get away from him!"

In spite of the anxious Navi and Ruto's calls the nucleus that was Morpha merely continued its horrid application in reaching down into the youth's body, seemingly as if looking for something. Gagging once more in a wide, teary-eyed scowl, Kage Narumono found his normally fierce aura of Aegir flashing in and out of itself.

A very visible sign indeed.

"Excellent," the watching Scaverin grinned forward in satisfaction. "Do it."

On his order Kage's pained yell was interrupted savagely and consistently by the amoeba's rough handling; eventually, it managed to pull something bright out from within and flew on back with it, freeing the vessel that was the Hero of Time. Gasping from the sheer pressure he had seemingly dealt with, even in his second persona, the fatigued Link collapsed forward onto his two knees, hands resting on the watery ground below.

"Link!"

Turning his teary-eyed right he found the worried forms of his two companions; the Zoran princess Ruto and his constant partner Navi.

"What's-?" He began uncertainly, blinking back at them cluelessly. "W-Where's Ray?"

Nodding her blue bulbous body toward the mercenary's fallen body the ex-Kokiri swivelled his blonde head 'round to the front only to find his former comrade's corpse.

"Ray...," he murmured out in a saddened frown. His straw-shaded eyebrows rose up however when he caught the sight of what appeared to be a mass cloud of fiery-red Aegir hanging in the air. Standing next to it were the smirking forms of Scaverin and the frowning stance Alwyn, seemingly still a mindless soldier for the villainous summoner. "W-What the-?"

"Link I...," Navi began, seemingly gulping down saliva as she spoke nervously. "I think I know what that thing is..." She claimed, appearing to refer to the angry cloud of crimson Quintessence.

Adding up the blanks in his memory, Link's oceanic eyes narrowed past the beads of fatigued sweat he suffered before widening them in horrific realisation.

"N-No... it can't be..."

"Oh yes...," Scaverin repeated a second time, his grin growing in a positively amused laugh. "Say hello... to your other side!"

With that enthusiastic call the old sorcerer laughed as he watched the cloud before them very slowly form into what appeared to be a human-like torso, legs and, finally, arms.

When Link caught the sight of its fiery colour forming a mirror-like image of himself he realised exactly who it was.

Kneeling down in a similar position to himself, the humanoid form stood back up to its feet before snapping its head back 'round to glare at him.

Kage Narumono stood before him.

"But... how is that possible?!"

In spite of the young Hylian's panicked thoughts and worries the mimicked form of himself glowered on right back at him as if to dash all of his hopes and horrors.

"Now...," the grinning Scaverin began as he stepped forward and reached ahead with his right cloaked hand. "I hope that you appreciate how difficult it was for me to-"

SLAP

In a surprising motion indeed, the fiery form of Kage merely back-handed the furrow-faced Scaverin's arm away, as if disgusted somehow.

"What is the meaning of-?"

Re-opening his hellish-red eyes to glare on back at the cloaked summoner he widened them and, as if by magic somehow, an invisible force pushed at the gasping forms of the former bishop and his standing soldier. Sending the pair skidding a few steps safely back they were, nonetheless, surprised.

"How dare you...," Scaverin growled forward as he lowered his cloaked arms to scowl on disapprovingly. "I saved you from that prison of flesh and bone and I should be treated with-"

"You shouldn't be treated at all...," Kage countered back in his classic demonic-toned baritone, eyes narrowing back at him. "Old man...," he began again before re-opening his mouth to continue. "Just because you understand the nature of the Shinzui... does not mean you have the power to control it."

Shocked by the phantom's words the listening Scaverin widened his eyes before, very slowly, narrowing them in silence. Seemingly satisfied with his handling of the situation the similar-faced Kage about-turned back to re-face the knelt and wide-eyed Link.

"Eighteen years...," the demonic warrior re-began as he tilted his body to glare back at the blonde. "Eighteen long years I have been a captive in your body...," he started before hissing his next reply in his narrow-eyed glower. "But no more."

Stepping forward, the water beneath him gave off a very light splash and even began to part as if sheerly afraid of his form.

"Come on... Link...," he growled forward as he very slowly marched toward the named youth. The listening Hylian gulped down a load of saliva, expecting a confrontation coming as he stood up to his feet. "Tonight... we fight for control!" The demon roared passionately, his voice knocking against the walls of the Water Temple's insides as he rushed forward.

~

Demonic Manifestation of the Holy Triforce – Kage Narumono

Surprising the blonde youth, his mirrored image shot forward with a sudden lunging dragon-like rising punch attack.

"HNGH!"

Unable to move in time to evade or even block the gasping Link was sent shut-eyed and bleeding high into the air to match the angry scream the crimson-shaded second side shouted out.

"SHORYUKEN!"

Widening his eyes the injured Hero of Time put his effort into turning his body 'round mid-flight to alter his curve; in an acrobatic flip he managed to recover by using his free left hand to grip at the wet ground below him. Pushing up off of it he grunted once as he somersaulted even further backward, landing in a skidding frown. As the super-fast Kage re-appeared with blinding speed behind the youth, the blonde narrowed his eyes and didn't even bother to turn his head while he shot up his dominant left arm up to block with.

SMACK-CRACK

"Argh!" The demonic warrior howled out in pain as his opponent parried the obvious direct assault before countering with his own small grapple. Angry at the defending Hylian the phantom-like apparition growled as he swept the legs, successfully taking the wide-eyed Link off his feet before swiftly yelling in effort as he savagely spun in a super-fast roundhouse back-kick. Though the Hero of Time was sent careering through the air and even rolling he managed to, somehow, turn his helpless flight into a second recovery.

As the hateful-eyed and predictable Kage shot lowly across the Water Temple's beautiful floor, kicking up its lovely water in his flight, he about-turned to get a good look in on his recovering enemy. Anticipating his opponent's intention however, the wide-eyed Link managed to take his gasping mirrored form by surprise; in his aerobatic air-rolling he turned his recovery into a sheer attack. Wildly spinning in his air-twisting series of kicks he collided them roughly with the grunting and gasping Kage, sending him reeling back up into the air. When the wide-eyed Link landed he similarly grunted before flipping forward and positioning his leg down to dive-kick his falling enemy.

Snapping his own hellish eyes back open Kage, in desperation, merely opted not to soften his landing at all. Landing in a pained battle cry he managed to leave both of his arms for a mixture of defence and offence; surprised and not foreseeing this the wide-eyed Link was unable to alter his jump arc and watched on worriedly as he descended down to meet the hungry-faced demon. Just as he feared the grinning Kage Narumono managed to grapple Link's predictable assault and, as he remained in mid-air, he glared back down at his laughing demonic second side.

"Useless!" He called upward in his open-mouthed fanged smirk. "I know all your-"

CRACK

Directly countering the wide-eyed demonic warrior's claims by action, Link used his remaining leg to spin into a deft and snapping roundhouse kick. Surprised and, seemingly unable to have also foreseen it, the fiery-shaded form of Kage was sent drifting and rolling across the watery ground. Pushing up off the ground he grunted angrily as he side-flipped into a kneeling recovery. Using his right hand he cupped the sides of his face as if to rid himself of the jarring his opponent gave him.

Double-taking with his beady fiery-red eyes he widened them before deftly swerving his darkened head down. Managing to avoid the narrow-eyed Link's wide haymaker he returned a low knee to the youth's gut, sending him gasping and stepping stumbling backward. Pressing forward in his hateful-faced counter-attack Kage growled as he leaned forward to sweep the legs a second time however, this time, he was met with failure.

Bounding with a skyward flip forward Link both managed to evade his enemy's strike and successfully delivered a counter-attack by using his enemy as a mere footstool; gasping in both the shock and anger Kage was sent similarly stumbling in the opposite direction to the recovering young Hylian. Altering his flight arc to land side on the narrow-eyed Link watched his opponent carefully, left arm lowered to catch the ground safely and legs lowered to land with them. Positively furious with his human persona Kage growled before suddenly disappearing; a sign of superspeed.

Anticipating his assault once more Link grunted as he turned to his previously undefended rear and shot up his left boot in a deft diagonal kick. Similarly prepared Kage widened his satanically-red eyes before raising up his right elbow, quick as a flash, in order to defend. Although he was successful in his art of defence his delivered retaliation was not; as he shot down his remaining left fist in retribution he merely managed to blow apart the watery ground and the holy stone with which the surface contained. Cut stone and rocks spat up alongside the splashing water as the super-fast Link shot up into the sky, disappearing in the sheer agility with which he moved.

Despite all of this however the growling Kage managed to predict the ex-Kokiri's incoming dive-kick by similarly vanishing from sight; yet another sign of their inhuman speed and agility. At last their exchange appeared to be coming to an end for as the grit-toothed Link turned his head up his eyes widened as he caught the sight – and feel – of his opponent fast-approaching him. Shooting up his right leg in a deft counter-kick he managed to strike the quick-footed Kage across the face and yet, even so, was similarly struck by the Kage's flying punt.

"Grngh...!"

"Hngh...!"

Time slowed down for the pair of similar-bodied warriors as they reeled back from the equal strength of their hits. Eventually however, as time regained its normal flow, the pair found their forms spinning wildly in opposite directions; using their Aegir to halt their involuntary flight they grunted similarly as they landed.

–

6

Gasping as he about-turned to re-face his fiery-shaded mirrored-formed opponent, Link used his right arm to wipe off the boiling-red blood that trickled down his chin eyes focused on his enemy. Laughing back in response, as if somehow knowing the altercation's result, Kage similarly about-faced to grin demonically back at the watching blonde.

"There is nothing...," he began, his satanically-red eyes flashing ominously as he spoke. "Nothing that you can do!" The demon-like warrior laughed on gleefully. "For all your eighteen years of wretched life... I have lived inside of you," Kage claimed, tilting his head in his knowing fanged smirk. His grin furrowed just a little as he finished his sentence. "I know every technique and power you have..."

"All of 'em... huh...?" Link challenged his former second side with a harsh narrow of his eyes; curious as he listened, Kage furrowed his brow in silent curiousness. "We'll see." The Hero of Time finished in a wry grin, as if having known something significant.

"Hmph...," Kage growled back, eyeing the youth suspiciously. "You really think you're stronger than me...?"

"Stronger...? No," Link replied with a shake of his head, a pleasing smile atop his otherwise bloody and bruised countenance. "I've never been as strong as you are."

"Nanda-ko...?" Kage muttered lowly, halting in his march to narrow his eyes in bewilderment. "What is this...?" He questioned curiously, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Finding no anxiety or dread within the youth's smiling eyes he growled to match his hateful. "Grnngh... why...," the demonic will began again, creasing his scowl even firmer. "Why aren't you afraid?!"

"I could never be afraid," the Hero of Time shot back, a confident look in his grinning-eyed expression. "I've never accepted that you're me... after all."

"Grnngh...," Kage growled back animalistically, widening his fiery-crimson coloured eyes as he found his form beginning to flash in and out of itself. Realising what was happening, his eyes were beginning to fill wide with horror. "B-But I-!"

Link's confident grin softened into an understanding smile and, at last, he bid his formerly living demonic second side a farewell look.

Just as he re-opened his fanged mouth to speak one final time, Kage Narumono gave his watching vessel a final scowl. "Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai ga anata no naka de nemuru kagiri...," he began, his form ghosting in and out of itself as he narrowed his boiling-blood-red eyes. "Watashi wa kesshite shinanai..."

His words, filled with hatred and assurance, echoed out into the quiet air of the Water Temple that they stood in; the listening Link turned his shut-eyed smile directly skyward as Kage's Ancient Hylian reverberated quietly across the walls. Though he could not translate each word as perfectly as he'd like to, he'd gotten a very good idea of what the demon had said to him.

In spite of his gashes and wounds that Kage Narumono had dealt to him he couldn't help but grow a big smile upon his face as he felt the very ceiling of the chamber and the background dissolve back into stone and man-made construction. Opening his mouth to speak one final farewell, Link left his well-meaning smile upon his face as he did.

"Goodbye... Kage."


	33. A Home Under Attack

Chapter 33: A Home Under Attack  
Lingering Nightmares of the Past Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Bittersweet Victory" - Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Sage Laruto" - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker OST. Scene 1 (First Half).

\--

In their collective effort to restore Hyrule's dilapidated water supply via Lake Hylia itself, the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis are pushed to near extinction, at least as far up as their head officers.

With the last surviving member of the Van Garrick clan, Raynard Van Garrick turning turncoat on their country's rebellion forces, the H.M.O. find themselves being eaten from the inside out. Thanks to the slithering efforts of Dreadlord Dragmire's right-hand, Scaverin; former bishop to the original H.M.O., manages to manipulate the young renegade into fighting his former commander and companion.

In infiltrating the Water Temple to clear the evil that king Ganondorf has breathed into it, Sheik finds himself outmatched and outnumbered by the Hyrulean military forces and is beaten into submission. Arriving to rescue his commander and, with hopes to save even his rival, Link engages in mortal combat with the last surviving member of the Van Garrick clan. Unfortunately the young Hero of Time finds himself outstripped and, relying once more on his demonic second side – Kage Narumono, – the savage apparition chillingly murders the young mercenary in cold blood.

Having used him to lure Kage out from the young Link however, the spectating Scaverin sends in one of Ganondorf's created creatures to extract the very essence of his demonic persona; he is successful and Kage Narumono walks the earth as a separate form at last after eighteen years of captivity.

Turning on his former vessel, the rage-filled Kage attempts to eliminate the Hero of Time and inherit his very identity. In their fate-filled altercation however, when Link eventually realises that they truly are mirrored forms of one another, he opts to engage his enemy with one last tactic; the very thing that Kage draws strength from.

The Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai... and, by extension, his and its odd connection to the Holy Triforce.

By simply coming to a realisation that he and Kage cannot truly be the same identity, the demonic warrior finds his formerly endless power dwindling and meagre. Having dealt with this horrific demonic second side all his life Link at last puts Kage Narumono, and all the hatred he held for everyone in his life, to rest.

Not all is well however; in the chaos of the battle, Raynard Van Garrick loses his life to the demonic Kage, just as Barkner once had seven years past and to make matters even worse, Scaverin somehow manages to take control of the veteran Zoran soldier Alwyn, lowering the alliance's forces morale by that much more. Even after Kage's defeat however he leaves his former vessel with a parting message in Ancient Hylian.

"As long as the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai sleeps within you... I will never die."

Chilling words indeed.

Now down by two more men and losing spirit fast, the surviving members of the H.M.O. attempt to push on their gained momentum in targeting their next house of worship...

\--

Scene 1

Gloop...

Somehow, sensing by the sound of the calming water around him, Link knew exactly where he was.

Splash...

As the inky-whiteness around his eyes slowly began to dissipate the watching blonde Hylian frowned forward at the blue humming island before him.

This was the same chamber I've been in three times now, he thought to himself.

"Well... four I guess." He rectified, a light smile on his face when he saw the form stand up before him; the designated Water Sage.

Somehow, unsurprisingly, the lightly-smiling face of the Zoran princess Ruto stood before him; Link couldn't help but return her smile in a well-meaning expression of his own.

"Look at you... standing there...," the Zoran woman spoke softly, her words echoing across the dream-like landscape of the Chamber of the Sages. She tilted her head very lightly as she finished her sentence. "You really do look like the Hero of Time."

Realising she was referring to the holy sky-blue hilt hanging off his left shoulder he absent-mindedly fingered it softly with his left arm, frowning lightly as he did.

"You know we in Zora's Domain... we never took anything you Hylians said seriously," Ruto added into the conversation, a kind of childish-looking grin adorned on her face. Link couldn't help but push out air softly through his nose, as if in restrained laughter. "Even after that bloody civil war...," she continued, a saddened frown morphing through her words. "We just couldn't have the same faith your people did."

Feeling the mourning she conveyed so well through the tone of her voice, Link's own frown lowered into a softened melancholic one.

"But now...," she restarted, her frown very gradually turning into a smile. "After watching you beat that thing... and save the rebellion's commander..."

Lowering his blonde-haired head in sorrow for the loss of the friend she so tactfully left out of her speech.

Just like with Barkner, he thought...

That will go to my grave.

"I can see why your people believe in you," the Zoran woman claimed, a confident look in her ruby-shaded eye. "You don't just have physical strength... but strength of the heart...," she smiled, shutting her eyes as she briefly lowered her head and rose up her hands to clasp softly on her chest. "Too many people... especially in our community... they can't even appreciate what that means." The Zoran princess laughed, re-raising her head to face the youth before her once more.

Although the listening blonde had the urge to respond to her with many a negative thing he pushed it down deep into his larynx.

There's no need to spoil the conversation, he thought.

"I made the right choice... seven years ago... when I chose you to be my husband," she began again as she smiled widely over at him; the listening Link spied a tear staining the side of her eye as she spoke. "That Zelda...," the Zoran woman began with a more jolly grin. "She's a far luckier woman than she realises."

Though he laughed in a nervous sense it wasn't out of the usual sense of childish anxiousness.

It was because of his conflicting feelings for the missing Hylian princess.

If only she knew, he thought.

"She's still alive... I'm sure of it," Ruto put forth, a confident look in her eye as she spoke. "So don't be discouraged... darling." She ended her sentence with a well-natured grin.

Link merely smiled back at her wanly; a growing sign of the weariness his task had weighed on him.

"You'll always be my first... Link," she spoke this time in an unusually sort of modest sense, a sad kind of smile attached to her words. "Know that I'll always love you... wherever you go."

His listening frown couldn't help but bend in tribulation. "Ruto..."

"No...," she batted back, shaking her head almost as soon as he spoke her name. "It cannot be," she stated, a hardened frown to her features; as if to contradict her words, the crease in her eyes twitched and the same tears Link spied from before began to rear their heads a second time. "Instead... I will fulfil my duty... as holy Water Sage of this country's defence. If helping your people is the only way I can get close to your heart... then that's what I'll do."

Her words, spoken with such bold conviction and low-hanging sadness, couldn't help but tug at the listening Link's heart-strings.

It only made him dislike his rebellion's hidden leader all the more.

"You must take this medallion, darling...," Ruto at last finished, this time a smile on her teary complexion before she laughed and tilted her head at him. "Take it respectfully!"

Her nostalgic call heralded the high-pitched whine that the chamber was filled with; as the cerulean-shaded coin-shaped emblem came plummeting down to meet him, so too did the inky-whiteness that so plagued his eyesight earlier.

Only the sound of Ruto's voice left with him as he also did.

"If you see Sheik... please give him my thanks, okay?"

~

Narrowing her indigo-shaded eyes through the darkness Impa looked for some kind of exit but, as she had previously feared, the dingy dark-blue labyrinth she waded through offered none to her.

If only I had the Eye of Truth she thought.

The technique limited only exclusively to those in the Sheikah clan and, even then, said to have been but mere legend.

A testament just to how absurdly rare and mythic the technique truly was.

Reaching her gauntleted left arm forward she furrowed her brow in concentration as she hesitantly hung her reach ahead. Finding her fingers passing through the wall before her, her fiery-red eyes widened.

Bingo, she thought.

Now confident in her action the experience Sheikah stepped forward and shut her eyes as she also passed through the invisible wall previously blocking her progress. Standing before her appeared to be a door and she narrowed her eyes at it.

Knowing my luck, she thought...

Something's in there waiting for me.

As the door vertically rose up and shut down behind her, stone bars also joined them, blocking her exit thusly.

DROOM

Her eyes narrowed in the door's direction behind her before snapping back to the front, only to find a horrifying sight indeed.

A group of six long corpse-like arms hung up from the ground not far from her position at the door, as if having been lying in wait. On the arms' fingers lay mere claws; seemingly of a dark and unnatural kind.

I don't like this, she thought.

The arms gave off an anxious vibe; something she expected to feel from a corpse itself.

Lifeless... dead.

Pulling the long katana from the similarly lengthy sheath at her side, Impa glared ahead as she rose the blade upwards threateningly. Bringing it down on the arms she widened her eyes when she caught sudden movement out the corner of her boiling eye.

WHOOSH-CLANG

Finding her assault bouncing off the firm similar steel to what she herself wielded, Impa was sent skidding backward to the left-hand corner of the room, spinning only once in her recovery. Narrowing her eyes forward at the new figure standing before her she could only glare before soon widening them in surprise.

A similarly lifeless looking Zoran man stood between her and the Dead Hands.

"What the...?" She murmured out disbelievingly.

What was a Zoran doing way out here?

Furthermore weren't they having issues with the recent curse having been put on them not that long ago?

This is very odd, she thought.

"What are you doing here?" She called forward, relaxing her battle stance into a simple standing stature, dusting herself off as she did. "Shouldn't you be elsewhere? What is your name?" The Sheikah pressed him, raising a curious eyebrow as she stared back at the man before her.

Strangely, the Zoran's eyes were as white as the skin on the corpse-like hands raising up out of the ground.

That could only mean one thing, she thought.

"Ah... Lady Impa... of the Sheikah..."

Her crimson eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sound of the intruding second voice.

"I knew it."

Finding a robed man stepping out from behind one of the slim hands – somehow – the watching Impa glared as she soon recognised his form.

A man of the former Hylian military.

What was his name, she thought.

Scaverin was it?

"It is certainly very nice to see you again...," he spoke in a knowing, smirking tone. "After the coup seven years ago your people certainly are in short supply..."

"Enough of the pleasantries," the Sheikah woman shot back, reaching for her katana again. "You can tell me what you're doing here and fill me in on him while you're at it," she warned him with a hard-eyed glare. "And don't even think about lying."

"My you certainly know what you're doing, don't you?" The grinning bald-headed Scaverin replied, a raise of his eyebrow spicing the tone of his voice. "Well... if you must know... Sir Alwyn and I are here at God's request," the robed schemer smirked back as he outstretched his right arm to his side, a superiorly confident expression on his face as he did so. "We are... reinforcing the divine presence he breathed into it."

"Cunning choice of words...," Impa muttered lowly, eyes narrowed before re-setting them to frown forward. "So... you're here on that tyrant's order are you...," she spoke before briefly eyeing the lifeless-like Alwyn. "Does he approve of this?"

"He approves of whatever God approves of...," the smirking Scaverin sounded out before suddenly lowering his head and scowling threateningly. As he did, the light blue glowing of his Aegir encompassing his arms began to light his facial expression hauntingly. "My child..."

–

2

"Are you feeling all right?"

As his consciousness slowly returned to him, Link realised who the owner of the familiar concerned voice was; the sound of a bird singing in the distance and the water filling up before him made him also realise where he was.

Lake Hylia.

"Sheik...," the teleported Link smiled back in response as the cerulean-shaded aura of Aegir-warp began to wear off around his body. He stepped forward out of the small stone platform he stood on with the Zoran's national symbol before soon joining his similarly blonde ally. "I should be asking you the same question." The Hylian batted back as he grinned confidently and, with some sense, a cheekiness that made the listening Sheikah smile in response.

"You've always been the good one Link... you didn't have to save me you know."

"Yeah I did," Link countered in a well-meaning disagreement, smiling similarly as he did. "The rebellion'd be lost without you."

Finding an oddly sad tone in the listening Sheikah's fiery-red eyes Link couldn't help but raise a curious straw-haired eyebrow upward.

"I... guess I'd miss you too," the ex-Kokiri added in a good-natured chuckle, briefly shutting his eyes as he did. Listening further, the Sheikah leader of the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis rose his own eyebrows; perhaps similarly surprised. "If it wasn't for you and Navi... I wouldn't be here I bet." He shot over his shoulder with a deft grin in the direction of the similarly-faced guardian fairy.

"Now that I can agree with!" The sky-shaded fairy shot in enthusiastically.

"It's... just a shame about..."

Realising he was talking about their former ally Link couldn't help but lower his well-natured smile in favour of a similarly saddened frown.

Raynard, he thought.

If only you hadn't turned.

"At least something good came out of it...," the Sheikah commander smiled in his words as he turned his head 'round to watch the long lake before him fill up with beautiful pristine water. "As the water rises... king Ganondorf's evil has all but faded from this province," he claimed, the sun giving the field they stood on and the lake before them a sunset, orangey tint. "Well done... Link." Sheik claimed, a smile in the tone of his words as he turned briefly to re-eye the frowning Hylian.

Odd, Link thought.

It seems like any time he does that I feel something different.

Maybe it's nothing...

But it is an instinct.

"I uh..."

His restart to the conversation made the listening Sheikah briefly raise up his head.

"I meant to tell you... Ruto told me to thank you," the youth offered over in a light smile. "She... seemed quite happy about how things ended... all things considered."

"I'm glad," Sheik smiled back in a positive nod before turning his fiery eye to his left to face the sun-kissed lake. "We have to return peace to Hyrule for her sake too... don't we?"

Though he wanted to forget about the very task his leader and commander was referring to he couldn't.

Not now; especially not now.

Even if I were to go back to the Kokiri Forest, he thought...

Now that Saria, Ruto, Barkner and even Raynard's gone Sheik and Navi really are my only friends.

"Thanks to her... and, of course, to you," Sheik amended his sentence with a grin in the tone of his words as he briefly re-eyed the Hylian before continuing. "This lake is filled with pure and pristine water," he spoke in a satisfied smile. "All is as it was... the nearby towns and the country's water source will be saved."

Stepping forward Link's brown boots crunched against the grass softly; he couldn't help but smile alongside his last fighting ally left, standing next to him in the bathing orange-like glow of the sunrise.

"Link... I..."

Raising his blonde eyebrows in response to the Sheikah's query, Link swerved his green-capped head to face him.

"I'm sorry about Raynard," the man lamented, his similarly blonde head lowered in moroseness. "If I... had realised something was off then maybe I could have-"

"Don't apologise."

Surprised by his ally's interruption Sheik swivelled his head 'round to widen his eyes at the smiling blonde.

"What happened, happened and couldn't have happened any other way...," Link mused aloud, the early morning air blowing the strands of his hair to compliment the warm apricot of the sunrise that kissed his face. "I'm sure Saria or Zelda would have said something like that," he finished, a grin on his face before turning back to 'round it on the Sheikah. "Right?" He pressed him in a good-natured ribbing, an infectious beam upon his face.

Laughing, in spite of all the heartache and misery the trio had been befallen upon, the watching Sheik could only grace the grinning Hylian with a blushing giggle.

"Come on... I imagine maybe, for once, we'll actually get a decent meal."

~

Propelled on by his comrade's smiling words Link couldn't help but smile back as he stepped off of Epona's saddle. 'Rounding himself to face the faithful horse and companion he had gained the smiling Link patted her across her neck.

"Thanks so much... Epona," the Hylian smiled back at her, his eyes briefly shut as he did so. "I guess I owe you and Malon a lot... huh?" He chuckled, re-opening his eyes as he patted the horse's left side, eliciting an affectionate whinny from it. "I'll have to thank her myself next I see her."

"Come on Link!"

Called on anxiously by his ever trusty guardian fairy Link nodded before swiftly tying Epona close-by and leaving her with a cheerful smile before following his comrades up the stairs to Kakariko Village.

When they entered, however, Link soon found his relatively good mood soon switching.

The horrid burning smell that filled the air came along with the horrifying sight of fire atop some of the buildings nearby.

"Oh no...," Sheik murmured out, narrowing his boiling-red eye forward at the sight before him. "Come on!" He urged, suddenly breaking into a forward run. Gasping in surprise but, nevertheless obeying, Link followed on after his commander.

Oddly enough, the young Sheikah blonde appeared to be aiming for the well of all places.

What's he hoping to find there, he thought.

Stepping forward to re-join his ally, Link raised a curious eyebrow upward as he opened his mouth to speak to the Sheikah and voice his concerns.

"Sheik, what's going-?"

"Get back Link!"

Almost immediately after the blonde's warning, the ground began to shake.

And violently at that.

DROOM

Dredging back a shocked gasp, Link instinctively brought his arms up defensively as the explosion of pressure from inside of the well gave out; as it did, the large wooden post that hung over the well protectively shot up in a skyward flailing vault. Spinning wildly through the air it finally landed a few steps back where Link had once tread; about-turning on his position the watching Hero of Time winced from the sheer level of sudden destruction he had just witnessed.

As if to add to the growingly threatening atmosphere the sound, and appearance, of sputtering rain made no difference to the narrow-eyed Sheik. As the raindrops pattered noisily against the green field of Kakariko the firm-eyed Sheikah leader of the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis attempted to search for something in the air, readying himself for some sense of combat. Watching as he swerved back to face his commanding officer Link could only furrow his brow concernedly.

"Sheik just what in the hell is-?"

"Link, not now!"

Silenced so suddenly and sharply by the sharp-tongued Sheikah made the listening Hylian wince.

I suppose if I can't tell what's happening I'm just a weight to him, he thought sadly.

Without any real warning for the poor watching youth the gasping Sheik was suddenly thrust into the air; widening his eyes Link watched up helplessly as his companion and friend was rag-dolled through the air as if he were nothing but an insect. Just as quickly as it had happened however the young Sheikah was tossed ruthlessly across the raining sky, landing in a pained grunting thud just a few strides from the small staircase. Watching the air around him carefully as if for fear of being ambushed the firm-eyed Link backed on up down the steps in an effort to reach his fallen companion; standing next to him he knelt down.

"You all right?" He breathed down, eyes remained focused on looking for their invisible assaulter.

"L-Link...," Sheik managed to cough out as he struggled to raise his hand up, as if to warn the youth. "Y-You have to... g-get out of-"

"Link it's coming back!"

Navi's abrupt call made the listening pair stiffen; turning his blue-eyed gaze to his left he, oddly enough, found a pure dark patch of inky blackness travelling across the very walls and buildings of Kakariko. Widening his eyes in a mixture of horror and amazement he gulped down whatever fear was holding him back and unsheathed the divine holy blade from its resting place.

SHIIING...

As the patch of darkness began to travel across the very rocky walls of the village Link lowered his stance to ready himself for combat. Realising its speed was halting very quickly in its charge however he furrowed his brow in half-confusion as he watched it stop just a step ahead of the village tree.

What is it doing, the young man thought.

"W-What the...?" Sheik murmured out as he re-rose his head back up to watch the form before him. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, somehow seemingly sensing his sudden reply, the form of darkness began to materialise and even stand. "N-No...," the watching Sheikah gasped past the injuries he suffered. "That's... impossible...!" He hissed out, visibly shocked to his very core.

"W-What is it?" Link queried skittishly, exchanging his wide-eyed look to go from his commander and to the dark patch of blackness before him. Narrowing a single eye in wonder as he watched it slowly begin to take human form he creased his face to match his perturbed tone of voice. "Is it... like Kage...?"

"N-No...," Sheik managed out in a pained gulp and shake of his straw-haired head. "It's... worse than Kage..."

Worse than Kage?

Somehow, even as he himself doubted it, the listening Link could sense the very danger the humanoid form before posed to them.

"Link you have to go."

Surprised again by his leader's command Link briefly eyed his friend before re-facing the slow-forming humanoid before him. Re-stating his hardened glare as he leant his body to the side Link shook his head back in a direct disobeying.

"Link you have to listen to-!"

Almost as if sensing the pair's argument the inky blackness before them at last formed fully; before the three appeared to stand what looked like a human woman perhaps around their age.

Certainly at least around their power bracket.

Realising that the watching Link glared back at the darkened form before him.

In spite of all the courage in the world however, as the dark shape marched forward Link found his form shaking, even before it managed to fully approach.

There was something seriously off about its Aegir.

It was as if it was pure evil itself.

In a sudden burst of speed the female form before him shocked him by crossing the distance all at once; reaching for his Hylian Shield to defend he was, alas, far too late. Only the conjoined calls of his name shouted out by his commander and guardian fairy were the last things to go through his ear before he fell unconscious.

–

3

Even the outside of the area he resided in felt wavy and dream-like.

Where am I, he thought.

"Shh..."

His eyebrows lifted up almost as if in shock and in realisation.

It can't be another dream surely, he thought worriedly.

"You were wounded pretty bad back there."

He tried to open his eyes and, just as before, found his vision blocked by blackness.

His eyes were probably covered by something.

"W-Where-?"

"It's okay," the voice laughed back at him good-naturedly, audibly coming closer to him. When he felt her approach his laying form he narrowed his eyes past the blindfold he wore. "You don't need to be so scared."

Easy for you to say, he thought.

This is the second time this has happened to me.

"You've done so much since last I saw you..."

Widening his eyes beneath the block to his vision, Link began to recognise the voice's owner. Though it was a similar mezzo-soprano to the last one he encountered it was different somehow and, yet, even after all that it was the smell that tipped him off.

The smell of her perfume was almost enough to identify her.

I think I know who this is.

"You really need to stop getting yourself in these kinds of situations fairy boy."

There it is, he thought.

Finding he could very slowly regain movement he rose up his hands to paw at the cloth hanging over his eyes.

~

When the young blonde at last regained his sight he couldn't help but grow a long-awaited grateful smile at the big pair of sapphire-like eyes staring back at him. As the owner of them leaned down and shut them, he felt her very delicately pry his lips open with her own. When the pair finished with their greeting embrace, Link at last got a decent-eyed view at his saviour; somehow, as he expected...

It was Malon.

"Did you miss me?" The young red-head grinned down at him as she stood back up to lean her head to the side. Link couldn't help but laugh very softly and quietly through his nose as he sat back up to a sitting position, finding himself laying on what appeared to be a familiar bed of a similarly recognisable living area.

We're still in Kakariko, he thought.

So what's she doing here?

"Yeah," he answered honestly, allowing his right arm to rest over his raised right knee. "I'm actually happy to see you." The blonde added in a cheeky, if genuine, chuckle. Though she grinned back at him in obvious joy she playfully hit him across his bare back with a soft slap.

Reaching for what appeared to be a mug of something the smiling Malon gripped it by its wooden handle before taking a seat with her free hand and passing the container over. "Here..." She urged, hovering it toward him. Taking it gratefully the Hero of Time nodded in silent thanks as he held it close with both hands, blowing over the steam that floated on up into his nose.

Tea.

"Sheik told me you've been busy."

Surprised, he looked up from the drink to find the farm girl leaning down to sit across from him; when he caught her folded-armed and staring back at him in a knowing grin he couldn't help but feel very guilty.

Thoughts of the very similar dream he had quite recently up in the Fire Temple with the mystery woman reared their shameful heads.

It was a dream, he thought.

It's nothing to feel bad about.

So... why do I?

"Y-Yeah...," he answered at last, a shaky chuckling tone to his normally confidently-expressed voice. "Sorry... I'd have came to see you other-"

"I know," the red-head interrupted him softly, lowering her folded-armed form to thread her fingers together in her lap, a much softer and understanding look in her body language. "You're the only one that can do what you do... and people really depend on that, don't they." She said, more of a statement than a question. Losing his cheerful smile as she referenced his title in the rebellion openly Link lowered his hardened, annoyed frown.

"If...," he began lowly, eyes narrowing at the dark floorboards below. "If it wasn't for Saria asking me to, then..."

Listening intently and curiously Malon raised an auburn eyebrow, opening her mouth to press him. "She was... your friend in the forest wasn't she?"

"She... was... yeah," Link answered, a longing saddened smile upon his complexion as he looked down into the liquid in the mug he held onto. "Now that she's helping Zelda...," he trailed on, narrowing his eyes as his smile very slowly evaporated into a hateful frown. "I guess I won't see her ever again."

"I'm sorry," Malon offered over, a quiet volume to her frowning voice. "She was... important to you... wasn't she?"

Re-raising his blonde head to face her he slowly regained his smile and nodded as he thought of the green-haired Kokiri. "She's the one who raised me," the youth clarified before chuckling. "I never really knew my parents but... sometimes I wondered if that's what it was like to have a mother."

Joining her hands together again as she rose them up to her chest Malon couldn't help but quiver her lower lip back at him. "Oh, Link..."

"I'm... fine," he laughed back unconvincingly, shaking his straw-haired head at her. "I guess I just...," the youth trailed off, a far-off look in his eye. "Miss her..."

Uttering no more words Malon stood up from her chair and leaned down, wrapping her arms around his bare chest comfortingly. Although the frowning Link allowed her to take him into an embrace he didn't return it, his guilt still eating away at him.

"You know I've stopped caring?" He spoke into her ear softly, his frown very slowly morphing into a sorrowful low smile. "About this country's people, I mean."

Malon opted to listen in silence as she ran her right hand across his back lovingly.

"Even when Sheik told me in the Temple of Time when I woke back up like this," he explained in a half-angry, half-amused grin. "Does...," the Hero of Time restarted, his grin very gradually dropping in sadness. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Shh..."

Malon's mezzo-soprano voice hushed his own, echoing out softly across the walls of the room they resided in quietly.

–

4

"Thank you, Aran." Sheik smiled behind his white scarf gratefully, his tone thankful but politely dismissive. The young Hylian boy smiled back in an acquiescing nod before agreeing to leave; in about-turning to walk out the door he gave the entering pair a greeting smile of his own. Link couldn't help blink down at the boy before soon receiving am elbow in his side courtesy of his frowning red-headed companion to his right.

"Hey Sheik," the Hero of Time smiled over in greeting as he swept past the young Aran, Malon close-by. "Feeling any better?"

"Ah, Link... yes I'm-" the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis leader similarly smiled back in response before catching himself mid-sentence; double-taking in the cheery Malon's direction. "Fine." He spoke lowly, his tone of voice surprisingly shifting; confusing the watching Link even further, the detached Sheikah even turned his blonde head from the group.

"You... don't sound fine...," the listening Link couldn't help but chuckle in a mixture of nervousness and uncertainness as he stepped forward. "Did that thing do any lasting-?"

"I said I'm fine!" The Sheikah brusquely and bitterly shot back with, cutting into the young Hylian's words with his own, as if to silence them swiftly. With a painful wince Link retracted his right hand slowly, puzzled at the man's odd shift in tone.

"Maybe I should... leave you two alone..."

Malon's whisper and demure touch to his left arm made him 'round his head to eye her briefly before opening his voice to respond.

"No I'm sure that everything's-"

He couldn't help but double-take in Sheik's direction when he caught his commander glaring at them both. Oddly, he found him focusing most of his visual ire on the red-headed ranch girl on his arm.

What the hell is wrong with him, Link thought puzzlingly.

"I'll meet you outside..."

Feeling her pull him delicately toward her he realised her intention; rolling his eyes he agreed to fulfil the young woman's request regardless. Malon draped her slender arms over his broad shoulders as he took her firmly by her hips and leaned up into his embrace with a shut-eyed kiss.

Somehow, even while similarly shutting his vision, he sensed his commander behind him glaring at them.

When she finally pulled back from him Malon gifted him with a smiling wink before turning wordlessly to leave the room. As the door shut with a quiet creak the remaining Link couldn't help but feel somewhat sheepish as he swivelled 'round to face the back of his leader.

"Should we...," he re-began, a similarly uncomfortable and zig-zag smile adorned on his face. "Get going...?"

~

The tension in the air truly was palpable; as Link and his commander trudged on through the avenues and streets of Kakariko's quiet village he could veritably feel Sheik's cold mood. Opting to march on obediently and similarly reticently behind him Link couldn't help but exchange a worried look with his guardian fairy.

"You should say something to him..."

"Like what?" Link hissed back, eyebrows risen up questioningly. "I don't think he wants to talk, especially with me." The youth admitted his suspicions as he stared on at the back-facing Sheikah ahead of him.

"There's even less of us now that Raynard's gone..."

The listening Link lowered his eyes in a morose sort of frown as she spoke, realising her intention in mentioning the deceased young man's name.

"We shouldn't be in-fighting like this..."

Sighing softly through his nose the guardian fairy's charge nodded in silent agreement.

She was right.

Whatever issues Sheik was having with him he'd have to root them out.

How best to do it, he thought to himself.

"Listen, uh...," he began uncertainly as they stepped on up one of the village's small staircases toward the well once more. He rubbed the back of his green-capped head as he did. "I hope that thing didn't bang you up too mu-"

"Do you enjoy what you do?"

Interrupted so sharply and so suddenly the listening Link could only blink his big cerulean-shaded eyes back at the speaking Sheikah before him.

"W-Wha-?" He murmured back, finding their march halting somewhat abruptly at the top of the staircase they once stood at hours earlier.

"I said...," Sheik re-began, half-turning his blonde head to eye the Hero of Time behind him with fiery-crimson sight. "Do you enjoy what you do to women?"

That surprised him.

Finding his frown creasing into yet further confusion, Link could only tilt his own blonde head back at his leader, positively mystified.

"W-What are you talking-?"

"I had thought you were a trustworthy sort of man Link," Sheik re-started as he glared on back at the baffled Hero of Time. "But I see you're like all of the rest of them."

Shaking his straw-haired head back at his commander Link started to gain an annoyed frown to his complexion, beginning to grow irritated at the Sheikah's seeming need to speak in riddles.

"Just tell me what you mean for Din's-"

"Is Malon the only woman you've ever kissed?"

Again, he was surprised.

What the hell is his problem, he thought.

What is even going on?

"I-" he began with a confused blink. "I think so, I mean-" the muddled youth started before shaking his head suddenly and irritatedly, shutting his eyes as if to re-affirm his thoughts and memories. "No there was... at least two others."

Listening intently this time Sheik narrowed his calmly angry red eyes back, allowing him to continue.

"But... I'm not sure if that one even happened...," the Hero of Time admitted distractedly, his words murmuring as he thought of the mystery woman in his dreams. "I know Ruto's happened," he re-affirmed as he re-raised his head to furrow his brow back at his commander. "But I had to do that... unfortunately," he admitted with some sense of regret, turning his eyes away in brief shame. "Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten the-"

"Spiritual Stone, yes?"

Surprised by the Sheikah's sudden knowledge Link swept his eyes back over and narrowed them suspiciously.

"How-?" He cut himself off, brow furrowing a second time before tilting his head. "Yeah...," he confirmed quietly. "W-Why is this so important to you anyway?!" He shot back this time, his voice heightened to convey his frustration. "I didn't realise my love life was-"

"No reason."

Even as Sheik turned to continue his march Link was left staring after him in a mystified half-narrowed glare. Shaking his blonde-haired head at him in disbelief he followed on silently after him, a single thought pressing him on.

"It's like talking to a woman..."


	34. Trowel into the Darkness

Chapter 34: Trowel into the Darkness  
Lingering Nightmares of the Past Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Block Mind" - Silent Hill II OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Walk on Vanity Ruins" - Silent Hill III OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

Although successful in their attempt to clear the holy Water Temple of its inside infections the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis lose another of their once few loyal numbers; the last of the Van Garrick Clan and powerful warrior in his own right, Raynard Van Garrick. During the scramble to save the fighting Sheik Link, Navi and Ruto manage to fight through Scaverin and his incredibly horrifying creation; 'Morpha'.

In utilising this water-manipulating demon-like creature Scaverin not only manages to charm the previously missing Alwyn to his side but even accomplishes in extracting the essence of the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai in Link's form.

Indeed; Kage Narumono himself is, at last, given a physical manifestation.

Though having lived within Link's body as a vessel in all eighteen years of his life he reveals that he knows all of the Hero of Time's techniques and strategies in war and combat. In spite this overwhelming advantage however Kage, once more, finds himself faced with defeat; in a daring play indeed Link merely offers his demonic second side a choice and a revelation in that they are not one and the same, despite the ghost-like form's attempts otherwise.

Just like an apparition itself, Kage leaves Link with a chilling final message and promise to return, so long as the Shinzui-et-Sanmiitai sleeps within him.

With the Zoran princess Ruto now similarly awakening as a holy Sage however Link and his rebellion allies manage to return light to Lake Hylia and its surrounding areas; in their efforts they manage to bring back the water that had once dried up in king Ganondorf's assault. In spite of this success however the alliance have little time to celebrate as Kakariko Village is seemingly attacked by some nightmarish kind of dark force.

Although Link and Sheik manage to survive the onslaught they soon learn that their ally, Impa of the Sheikah, was last seen within the deep halls of the Shadow Temple. With this knowledge they press on in an attempt to locate and assist her...

\--

Scene 1

"I don't know if I like this..."

"Just press on; the sooner we get it done the better."

Wincing as he listened to his commander's sharply-spoken order Link flinched but only very briefly before soon following behind. Even as they stepped through the clearing and into the Kakariko Graveyard the slight shower of rain only added to the group's lowering morale. Feeling somewhat nostalgic as he walked on past the tall weathered wooden sign Link cast his gaze toward the similarly shabby shack on his right.

"Isn't that... Dampé's old house...?"

"Over here."

Pulled straight out of his inward silent thoughts Link turned his inquisitive frown over to the marching Sheikah leader ahead of him, stepping through the garden of graves. Even as the rain pattered atop the wet grass that they stepped onto, walking away from the stone path they tread on, the pair opted to turn their march to the damp ground surrounding the end of the graveyard.

Realising there was only a trio of graves resting at the end the curious Link couldn't help but raise a blonde eyebrow as he turned his cerulean-eyed gaze around, as if in search for the next possible road out of the limited movement they had.

"I don't... see where-"

"Look up Link."

Following his commander's wise words the wide-eyed Hylian turned his surprised stare skyward only to find a wooden divider built high above the pair.

"Oh, so the temple's built in there is it?" Navi belled in with an inquisitive tone to her voice.

"Yes," Sheik answered the curious guardian fairy, fiery-red eyes narrowing up at the platform high above them. "We'll have to press on as soon as we're able."

Though he listened in due silence, the memory of Sheik's earlier anger still fresh in his head, Link couldn't help but contemplate the very meaning of his commander's statement.

"That's great and all, but...," he began, furrowing his brow thoughtfully before returning his gaze up to the wooden divider above him. "How the hell are we gonna get up there?"

~

"You didn't have to do that!"

"Oh hush up; you're fine," Navi insisted for what felt like the umpteenth time; in spite of her confident words however she found herself hovering away from the wildly shaking form of her charge. "Just keep that rain off me!" She called out in a bout of well-natured ribbing laughter as she watched the annoyed Link shake wildly to rid himself of the droplets of drizzle that acclimated to his form.

"Reminds me of a dog of some kind." Sheik offered over his shoulder, a grinning characteristic to the tone of his words. Navi, laughing in response to his words, stayed a fair distance away perhaps to avoid the incoming droplets of rain that Link shook off.

"Very funny," the disgruntled Hero of Time shot back, a light twitch in the annoyed frown he wore to counter his commander. The ambience soon began to fall to a trickle as the group descended down the staircase before them one at a time; even as he followed his leader Link could barely hear the constant rainfall behind him. As they finally stepped inside the chamber down below Link furrowed his brow in light curiosity as he drank in the sight. "Is... this it?" He asked, turning his cerulean-eyed gaze across the many torches littered around the deceptively large chamber.

Drawn all around the brown-shaded surface was an odd kind of language that resembled something Link had previously seen in books. In the centre of it appeared to be a single stone-like platform that seemed to be the fulcrum of the area and finally at the end of the chamber looked to be a very large ebony-stone door. On it was a symbol the watching Link managed to recognise rather intimately.

A single opened eye decorated with a droplet of what appeared to be a tear; the Sheikah's symbol.

"The Sheikah were the ones that created this building...," Sheik began to explain, seemingly sensing the silent Link's ruminations. "Even before the other Hylian temples were erected... this was built for a single purpose."

"And that is...?" Link ventured to ask, a straw eyebrow raising up in curiosity.

"To keep something in," the rebellion's leader retorted, a hardened glare to his narrow-eyed stare as he re-faced the wide-eyed Hylian. "You remember it... don't you? At the well?"

"Yeah...," the listening Hero of Time muttered out distastefully, his sky-blue eyes wandering away from his commander's gaze. "I almost wish I didn't." The blonde gave claim to, eyes narrowing at the ground in reluctant memory of the horrific sight.

It wasn't so much the mere form the oddly humanoid-like thing took...

It was its Aegir.

Sometimes, when he had felt something very odd, it was telling.

If there was anything to match it, it had to be that thing, he thought.

Pure horrifying malicious intent; that was what he felt from it... and yet somehow different from the incarnation of hatred within him; Kage Narumono.

While Kage was admittedly filled with anger and hatred, he was at least direct in his approach.

Something in that nightmarish form suggested otherwise and the concerned Link didn't like it.

Not one bit.

"Come on."

Dragging him out of his silent ruminations the frowning Sheik stepped toward the platform surrounded by torches and turned his head 'round to eye his officer.

"It's time to flex that 'Din's Fire' and see if we can't enter this place... hm?" The Sheikah put forward, raising a curious straw-haired eyebrow of his own. Link shot up a side of his watching frown into a light but confident smirk before stepping on to follow his commander's order.

–

2

Treading through the darkness of the Shadow Temple's entrance Link kept his narrow-eyed gaze taut on the rigid closeness of the chamber he resided in alongside his companions. In spite of the building's incredibly large door the inside appeared to be little more than a small corridor leading to the right.

"Don't fall for this place's design," Sheik spoke as he stepped on ahead of his green-clothed accomplice, stopping as he came to what appeared to be the end of the corridor. "It was made to look contradicting to ward off thieves."

"Any other reason?" The young Hylian ventured to ask as he marched on behind the narrow-eyed Sheik before soon widening his eyes when he caught the long drop below.

"I guess for the sake of sheer amusement." Sheik batted back to his shocked companion, a similarly amused grin hidden behind the white scarf he wore so well. Regaining his hardened frown the thoughtful-faced Link reached into his inventory and quickly spun out the hookshot he had acquired earlier. Having enhanced its length it easily reached the end of the stone cliff ahead of him. Taking this into account Link shut an eye in effort before pressing the button on the back of the hookshot.

CLICK

WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

Widening his oceanic-eyed frown the young Hero of Time was pulled suddenly and aggressively by the hookshot's strength; managing to just barely catch the cliff's side he pulled himself up with an effort-filled grunt. When he caught the sight of the folded-armed Sheik standing merely a step away from him he couldn't help but twitch his annoyed frown back, eliciting a satisfied-looking crease in Sheik's hidden grin.

"Come on."

Holding back an annoyed grunt Link obeyed his commander and followed on behind him. When he caught the Sheikah stepping on past the oddly designed wall ahead however his eyebrows rose up and, before he could even question the legitimacy of what he had just witnessed, he felt something probe his very mind.

"The Shadow will yield only to one with the Eye of Truth handed down in Kakariko Village."

"Come on Link!"

Shaking off his surprise the listening Hero of Time watched even his cerulean-shaded guardian fairy fly through the illusory wall.

I guess this is a normal occurrence for the Shadow Temple, he thought with a wry grin before stepping forward to dive through and follow.

Finding a surprising sight indeed made the watching Hylian raise up his two eyebrows; an odd stone-like edifice stood in the centre of the new spacious room they resided in. Resting atop the cylindrical-shaped structure was a crow-like creature also made of stone. Surrounded around its watchful eye appeared to be thin poles of skulls all littered around the stone edifice.

"I don't like this..." Sheik murmured out as he turned his folded-armed frown forward on the sight before him.

"What is it?" Link questioned curiously as he stepped toward his commander, eyes resting on the far-off platform to his top-right; a similarly strange-looking sort of building that's surface looked like a tongue of all things. The front appeared to be a monster of some kind and the entrance its mouth; in spite of the overwhelming distance between them and the platform however there was also a granite railing atop the platform's corridor that prevented entry.

What a way to keep someone out, Link thought in a sarcastic deadpan turn to his thoughtful-faced expression.

"We're going to have to either guess...," Sheik began lowly as he narrowed his flaming eyes up at one of the skull-like poles on his right. Raising his right hand up to rest atop it he nodded in confirmation as he felt its solid stone. "Or keep looking."

Finally turning back to face his commander Link blinked in confusion. "What are you talking a-?"

"'Make my beak face the skull of truth'," Sheik spoke aloud as he lowered his right arm to rest in his usual folded-armed expression. "'The alternative is descent into the deep darkness'."

"H-Huh?"

"Link."

Called by the helpful guardian fairy Link swivelled his straw-haired head to his left to find Navi hovering over what appeared to be an inscription.

Make my beak face the Skull of Truth.

The alternative is descent into the deep darkness.

"Wow...," Link murmured out, blinking back at the message before grinning sheepishly as he scratched the side of his head. "I guess we're boned then, huh."

"We could always risk it, but..." The narrow-eyed Sheik hummed forward, his firm-eyed gaze swivelling between the crow statue and the skulls littered around them.

"Isn't that one there the real skull?" The Hero of Time pressed on as he turned an accusatory finger on the skull his commander previously pawed at to his north-east. Briefly eyeing the bone-like stone, Sheik merely shook his similarly blonde head before re-facing the frowning Link.

"Not necessarily," he began before elaborating. "Just because I can interact with it doesn't quite mean it's the 'true' skull intended to be used for this."

Link merely stared back at the Sheikah, unsure and uncertain.

"In fact I imagine our enemies have set this up just so we will fail...," Sheik continued on as he re-turned his hard-eyed frown on the skull above him. He re-folded his arms and glared on as he opened his mouth back up. "If only there was some other way of-"

RUMBLE...

Surprised and frightened by the sudden jarring sound of movement Sheik swivelled his head 'round only to widen his eyes in horror at the sight; the grunting Link pushing the stone edifice toward the very skull he had referenced to earlier.

"Link, no!"

~

CLICK

"Phew!" The frowning Hero of Time managed out as he recovered from his strain by running his left arm across his forehead. Turning his blinking-eyed frown up to face his leader however he raised a curious eyebrow upward. "What?"

Before Sheik could even open his mouth to scold his companion for his action Link widened his eyes when he found his vision blighted by a sudden blanket of darkness. As if to aid whatever forces were seemingly kidnapping his very form the sound of Navi and Sheik's shouts for him began to sound muffled as if far away.

Eventually, as they also faded into darkness, so did his consciousness.

CLINK

Groaning Link attempted to make some form of sense to his current surroundings.

But it was difficult.

RUMBLE...

The smell was dank, damp and even dark.

Am I in some kind of dungeon, he thought warily.

Just as he thought it he realised suddenly he couldn't seem to move his arms.

"Where the hell am I?"

"H-He's here your godship... y-yes..."

Link's eyes snapped open and, in spite of the constant darkness pervading his vision, he could make out an odd shape behind the bag he seemed to be wearing. The bright orange-like glow the torch from within allowed him to make out merely a single form; someone small to match the soprano of the voice he heard.

It looked, and sounded, like a woman.

But what was a woman doing down here?

"P-Please... I've did all you asked..."

The grunting Link attempted to move and, as soon as he had, wished he hadn't; the sound of his movement caused the chains he was linked to, to clink loudly.

Oh no, he thought.

Just as he feared he caught the small shape of the person ahead of him swivel 'round, presumably surprised by the sudden sound. Very slowly stalking toward him the figure leaned over as if to examine him closely for signs of movement; in return Link attempted to freeze all movement and appear asleep.

Unfortunately for him however, his kidnapper opted to take the bag off of his head and examine him even more closely than before.

Sheepishly he raised up his eyes with his blonde head only to stare back at his kidnapper above him, a kind of zig-zag-like grin on his face.

This is bad, he thought.

At last however he at least got a decent look at his captor; seemingly a young woman, perhaps around his age-range. She wore merely dirtied rags to cover her upper and lower half, adding to her seemingly mysterious appearance.

"N-No...," the nameless captor murmured out, a hopeless look in her eyes as she turned them skyward suddenly. "I... I tried so hard to-" she continued to rant up at the ceiling above her as if for some kind of answer. Link watched her peculiarly, attempting to work out just who in fact she was speaking to. "Please don't... no... please..."

Finally, in spite of all of her clear-cut madness, Link lost his patience and opened his mouth.

"Who the hell are you-"

DROOM

Before he could even finish his sentence his oceanic eyes widened at the sudden explosion that threatened to blow him to smithereens. Seemingly coming from the left Link felt his long blonde fringe flying off to his right, the chains he was shackled to clanking noisily as they were also blown off their stone hinges. Screaming out in shock the nameless young woman was sent flying off to the darkened corner of the area leaving the coughing Link alone.

Or so he thought.

"Get up!"

Having not heard her voice for the last seven years Link remarkably recognised it; swinging his head 'round in wide-eyed surprise he stared back at the red-eyed Sheikah staring back at him.

His former mentor.

"I-Impa!" He exclaimed, shock lacing his very voice.

"I said get up!" She snapped again repeatedly at him, annoyance and impatience filling her. Wincing in reaction but obliging nonetheless Link pulled himself together and scurried on up to his feet, the shackles still hanging on his wrists. As he followed on after his former mentor down one of the Shadow Temple's many darkened corridors he could distinctly hear the wrist irons he wore jingled loudly.

–

3

"We should be safe now." Impa spoke over her shoulder, her tone and run very quickly shifting to a casual one.

Groaning in annoyance Link plonked himself down on the hard ground below him, regarding the chains still stuck around his wrists.

"Why are they stuck so tightly...?" The Hylian muttered in annoyance eyes narrowing down at the shackles as he attempted, in vain, to free himself of them.

"Where is Sheik?"

"Rgh...!" Link growled out in frustration as he pawed at the shackle on his left arm. "Why... won't it..."

"Link!"

Realising his former mentor was attempting to pull him up from his musings the surprised-faced Hylian shot his blue-eyed gaze up to face the narrow-eyed Sheikah.

"Where is Sheik, Link?" She repeated a second time, knelt down to his level. The listening Hero of Time lowered his eyes in a pensive frown, unsure on what exactly to say. "I see," she sighed , turning her silvery-haired head to the side before standing back up to her feet. "I didn't realise things were so bad between you two..."

"Sheik...," Link parroted, raising a straw-haired eyebrow in curiosity as he similarly rose up his head. "Of course...," he spoke, both eyebrows now rising upward in sudden realisation. "You taught him!"

Impa merely half-turned in her pacing around the darkened corridors of the labyrinth they resided in before eyeing him contemplatively and resuming her wordless movement.

"You'd think I'd have realised..." He thought aloud, the chains on his wrist clinking as he rubbed the back of his green-capped head sheepishly.

"How... much do you know of him?"

That question surprised him.

"Uh?" He merely grunted back in surprise, blinking as he re-faced her.

"I said how much do you know of him?" Impa repeated, folding her muscular arms over at him.

"Oh," he merely responded with before running his right finger over his nose in thought. "Hard to say... he keeps his cards close to his chest."

"Good," the Sheikah replied with, turning away from him as she paced down one of the narrow walkways the labyrinth was filled with. "Where's your guardian fairy companion?" She asked over her armoured shoulder, eyebrow similarly raising. "Navi, is it?"

"We got... separated I guess." Link answered, a doubtful frown etched upon his similarly thoughtful expression.

"She's with Sheik I presume, hm?" Impa responded with her own contemplative frown before nodding her silvery-haired head. "Good; that makes things easier for us."

"It does?" Link blinked back at her curiously.

She nodded a second time as she opened her mouth to retort. "If your companion is with Sheik then we can just meet them a little while down the road; come." She urged him on as she began to pace forward. Realising she was moving to leave Link's cerulean eyes widened before he scrambled to follow, the chains on his wrist clinking noisily.

~

"I feel horrible..."

"Don't blame yourself Sheik; it could have happened to anyone."

Having spoken of the very incident the Sheikah leader was referring to on multiple occasions the rebellion's captain finally decided to let it lie.

In spite of it however he couldn't help but worry.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Navi jingled positively on his right as the pair descended down what appeared to be a long and narrow hill incline. The stone soon switched to dirt ground; a fact reflected in the deep grunt Sheik's shoes gave off as they made contact. "We're talking about the Hero of Time," the diamond-blue guardian fairy spoke, a confident smile in the tone of her words. "If anyone can make it out of here alive alone, it's him."

Chuckling in quiet agreement Sheik nodded his blonde-haired head. "Yeah... thanks Navi."

The sudden sight of a Beamos not far from their position made the duo stiffen despite their earlier morale-raising conversation.

"It's okay," the watchful Navi breathed quietly from his side. "It's just a Beamos."

"That's not okay," Sheik disagreed with her in a firm-eyed narrowed glare. "If there's a Beamos there, then..."

"Good eye... detective."

Surprised by the abrupt baritone's interruption Navi couldn't help but gasp in surprise as she regarded the discovery with similar-toned concern.

"Where-?"

"They're around here somewhere...," Sheik murmured out, his eyes narrowed in a suspicious-faced glare. "If I could just pin-point-"

DROOM

Grunting as he shot up his arms diagonally to block some of the strength of the sudden blast before him Sheik shut his eyes very shortly; when the explosion ahead wore off he was surprised to find a familiar Zoran adult male's form before him.

"Alwyn!" Navi called out, similarly surprised.

Stepping out from the smoke of the fallen Beamos statue they seemingly destroyed the low-smirking Scaverin stood diagonally behind the Zoran, his robed arms folded.

"Scaverin," Sheik spoke, venom lacing his tone as he scowled on back at the right-hand to his enemy. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," the robed acolyte grinned back at him, ever in his superior-laced face. "Where's your companion...? Your favourite pawn?"

"He's not a pawn," the blonde Sheikah growled back angrily. "And don't ask stupid questions."

"Stupid questions...?" Scaverin murmured back, a sickly-sweet sarcastic tone to his frowning face. "Why whatever could you-?"

CLANG

The sudden clash of Sheik's knife-steel with the possessed Alwyn's surprisingly strong fore-fins made the witnessing Scaverin's frown twitch into a hateful familiar scowl.

"My patience...," Sheik began lowly as he dared to take a step toward his enemies. "Is very quickly running thin..."

"Hmph...," the narrow-eyed aide to Hyrule's king aired out of his throat before leaning his bald-headed head to the side; a gesture made in open defiance. "We shall see... just how far that patience stretches..."

–

4

Pulling an arrow back Link narrowed his one open cerulean eye before widening it as he let loose the ammunition. Flying swiftly through the air it very easily tore through the otherwise bulky and hardy skull-like skin of the Skulltula and sent it screeching and careering into the stone wall behind it, soon evaporating into a wisp of crimson fire.

"Somethin' tells me...," the narrow-eyed Hero of Time began, his brow furrowing as he spoke. "That we're not making any progress."

"There's very little choice else Link," Impa grunted back as she marched on past him, fiery eyes set down the dark stone incline. "If what I suspect is true, then..."

"Yeah?"

TMP

Surprised, Link turned his risen eyebrow expression over to the corner they turned. On his left stepped down a pair of skeletal warriors; an enemy type he had fought before.

The Stalfos.

The two skeletal soldiers stood gripping their abyss-like ebony small-shields on their left, the familiar twisted straight-sword held on their right. The two deceased nameless knights glared on back at the pair with their beady fiery-red eyes.

"You up for this?"

Link couldn't help but grow a small grin as he heard his mentor banter over at him. The sound of her long knife unsheathing echoed on as he similarly drew the Master Sword and Hylian Shield from their resting places on his back.

"Are you?"

It was Impa's turn to grin; she regarded him with a brief narrow of her eyes and a chuckle on her lips.

"Touché."

With barely a warning or sign the pair of Stalfos leapt the chasm with impressive agility and strength before both coming down in a frightening plunging strike. Similarly of speed however the grinning Link and Impa gave off brief flickers of their forms; a sign of the after-image technique. With analogous bafflement the duo of skeletons swivelled their skulls around in deft search for their opponents but, by the time they even realised, it was too late.

SMASH-CRACK

In a grinning green blur the super-fast form of Link re-appeared in mid-air, acrobatically leaping around the first Stalfos' undefended right side with a spinning roundhouse kick. His demonic grunt echoing out into the darkness of the Shadow Temple reverberated loudly as he was sent spinning wildly through the air. Similarly re-appearing in response to the Stalfos' sudden opening the firmly-frowning Impa descended down from the air directly above to deliver a savage spinning slashing strike.

CRACK-CRUMBLE...

In one swift and beautiful movement the teamwork Link and his mentor executed managed to finish off one of their enemies in record time. Shocked at the sheer speed with which the duo executed their assault in the Stalfos merely stared back at them, literally shaking in its boots. Even as the two turned to eye the skeletal warrior the last remaining demonic entity comically gave out one grunt before, like magic, its limbs and skeletal body went up in flames.

"I guess he wasn't too confident." Link stated, a similarly convincingly bold grin upon his expression.

"Hmph...," Impa shot back through her throat, a complimentary smirk of her own attached to her face. "If my assumptions are at least somewhat correct... then Sheik will be on the other side of this dungeon."

"Navi with him I bet...," Link mused aloud in a narrow-eyed murmur, his gaze directed toward the ground beneath him. Turning his blonde-haired head up to re-face his mentor he rose up the Master Sword and Hylian Shield to click into place behind him as faithfully as he always did. "How should we go on?" He asked, eager to fall in line behind his former teacher, perhaps grateful to be led by someone else for a change.

"We should proceed as normal and as careful as we have been," the frowning Sheikah informed the youth before sweeping her indigo-eyed gaze across the landscape before them; ahead of their position appeared to be a never-ending rising platform lifted by chains. Beyond it seemed to be a second platform that led further into the temple and behind them was one huge drop followed by a similar-toned platform. To its left was a door that seemingly also led further into the dungeon. "Over there."

Double-taking in the very direction Impa was nodding toward Link could hardly believe his sapphire-shaded eyes.

She's not serious, surely, he thought.

"But there's no-?"

"You must see...," she responded, cutting him off with a soft smirk upon her face. "With the Eye of Truth..."

Furrowing his brow Link merely observed as his mentor hopped forward; surprised and frazzled he attempted to reach out to stop and help her before widening his eyes at the result.

What the hell, he thought.

Impa stood on pure thin air.

How was that possible?

With a confident look on her face she turned to face him and gestured for him to follow.

Gulping down a load of nervous saliva Link called within the courage resting within him and hopped forward to join her.

Expecting surely to drop into the endless pit below him he couldn't help but gasp in shock and further confusion when he didn't.

"How-?!"

"There's little time to stand here and explain," Impa chuckled good-naturedly before shaking her head and pointing it in the door's direction. "Come on." She pressed him on; furrowing his brow a second time the Hero of Time nodded similarly and followed on wordlessly.

~

CLANG

Sheik narrowed his blood-red eyes through the endless sparks that emanated between his knife and Alwyn's fore-fins; he found himself glaring back into the eyes of his possessed ally. With a cacophonous clash the pair of warriors retreated from one another in a similar-sounding skid backward, kicking up dust from the hard surface they stood on.

"I wonder..."

Sheik's small-pointed ears perked up at the distasteful sound of Scaverin's voice. Turning his ruby-red gaze upward to his right he found the ever smug form of the former bishop standing before him, robed arms folded.

"Can you truly kill this one...?" The monarch's right-hand postulated forward with a raise of his bald head, a grin upon his face. "Sir Alwyn certainly won't hold anything back..." He ended with a knowing chuckle, tilting his head as he did.

"Shut up..." Sheik dismissed the man, an irritated tone evident in the narrowing of his boiling-red eyes. Turning them back on the blank look in the veteran Zoran soldier on his left however the young Sheikah watched him carefully.

"Sheik..."

Navi's worried voice on his right made him furrow his brow in recognition.

"How are we going to do this...?" The guardian fairy questioned, genuinely curious. "I... honestly can't find a way to save him."

"I can."

Surprised, Navi couldn't help but turn her small cerulean body 'round to cast her light on the Sheikah leader.

"R-Really?!"

"But I'm not sure it'll work...," Sheik admitted, a hesitant and unsure tone the delivery of his response. Raising his left bandaged fingers to rest thoughtfully across his chin he continued. "It's a technique I've read about in the past that's only ever been used against a certain type of combatant..."

"And that is?"

"A...," he began, lowering his red-eyed gaze temporarily and worriedly. "A corpse..."

Surprised a second time Navi could only stare back at him wordlessly, her actions speaking for her.

"I-If this technique is as I have read...," Sheik re-started, turning his eyes back up as he narrowed them, perhaps this time in determination. "Then by doing this... I'll overwrite any control that Scaverin's imposed on Alwyn."

Widening her eyes behind her bright blue illumination Navi similarly re-opened her mouth to respond. "Yes!"

"What are you two whispering about over there...?"

Snapping their gazes 'round back to glare at the similar-expressed Scaverin, perhaps watching at having his name being spoken, Sheik and Navi kept a lid on their voices so as not to reveal anything more.

"Hmph...," the former bishop grunted, narrowing his eyes suspiciously before regaining his small grin. "No matter... Alwyn," he began before widening his smirk. "Kill them."

–

5

SPLASH

Gasping in the sheer effort it took Sheik managed to avoid the deluge of water that the narrow-eyed Alwyn called forth in utilising his Aegir; a surfing assault. By hanging himself on the wall around them Sheik watched the frowning Alwyn glare unemotionally back at him.

"There must be a way through his offence...," Sheik murmured out, watching his enemy for signs of weaknesses. "Not even the most skilled of soldiers have no weak point..."

"He has no head-fin..."

Surprised by Navi's comment Sheik could not help but raise his blonde eyebrows in recognition of her words; sure enough as he inspected her claim, he seemed to have the fin usually resting on the Zoran head dismembered.

Why hadn't I noticed that before, he thought.

"If I'm correct in saying this...," Sheik began once more, brow furrowing in thought. "The Zoran soldiers traditionally use their fins to see when fighting... don't they?"

"That's correct," Navi answered in an agreeable nod. "Generally this is only applied in the water though; they tend to rely on their eyesight like Hylians and other humans."

"Good..." The young Sheikah responded, a similar nod on his satisfied expression. Opting not to utter anything more the blonde warrior soon disappeared from common view. Though the watching Alwyn darted his empty eyes around in quick search for his opponent his floating robed overseer scowled forward as he opened his mouth.

"Behind you!"

Reacting to his instruction Alwyn's devoid eyes widened as he about-turned and shot up his forearms defensively.

CLANG

Sheik grunted in a mixture of indignation and impatience, his eyes very briefly darting to his far-left as far as they could in the direction of the floating Scaverin behind him. Realising he was responsible for his failure the young Sheikah broke the hold of his knife with an echoing clash and skid backward before about-turning a second time to face the surprised-expressed Scaverin. Catching him off guard Sheik widened his blood-red eyes before grunting as he tossed down a Deku Nut directly in his face.

FLASH

"Argh...!"

Scaverin's annoyed exclamation immediately followed the overly bright flare that illuminated the room. Successfully managing to incapacitate his opponent's benefactor, Sheik pressed on his assault with little mercy; with an acrobatic turn of his body he swung his left leg in a swift roundhouse kick. In spite of the bright light in his way Alwyn managed to block the assault but just barely; the force of which managed to send him stumbling back.

It wasn't much... but it was all Sheik needed.

With the expected result in mind the narrow-eyed Sheikah shot upward in an acrobatic side-somersault, sailing directly overhead. Perhaps unable to sense his presence the gasping Alwyn could only keep his forearms raised directly upward, as if to block the bright light the Deku Nut gave off. Just before the illumination wore off however Sheik descended down in a magnificent plunging attack; a slick dive kick that managed to send the grunting Zoran down in a single stroke.

Utilising the momentum he gifted himself with Sheik narrowed his eyes as he charged his Aegir directly through his finger-tips and, swivelling his body around, he descended down to slam his burning fingers directly on the Zoran's open blue chest.

SLAM

"Yes!"

To match Navi's morale-raising call the wide-eyed Scaverin could only gasp in growing curiosity and concern as he watched from his comfy mid-air spot. Hanging in air through use of his Quintessence the robed summoner glared forward, seemingly taking note of the burning technique.

"I know that art...," he commented forward, eliciting a half-turned scowl from the listening Sheik. "Hmph... so... you've certainly done your homework... boy." He commended in a firm-eyed glower.

Just as the watching group had expected and as the fires from Sheik's fingers finally burnt out, the colour at last returned to the shocked Alwyn's eyes. With a pair of similarly surprised blinks the formerly governed Zoran soldier could only gasp and, as disorientation set in, he swept his gaze across the dungeon's room. Reaching down to offer a hand Sheik smiled through the white scarf he wore ever so faithfully, pulling up the frowning Alwyn.

"What... what's...?" The older man murmured out, double-taking between his Sheikah ally and their watching enemy. Soon realising the situation he glared on back at the similar-faced Scaverin.

"And to think that it worked...," the former bishop mused aloud, dropping his body to stand once more. "You know far more than you should... little Sheikah." Scaverin spoke in a hushed whisper, eyes glaring over at the shorter blonde.

"I should have known it'd be you," Alwyn at last spoke, scowling as he ever did. Leaning his injured head to the side he narrowed his eyes. "Aide to Ganondorf?"

"That's 'God' to you... lowly Zoran," Scaverin replied with a hateful tone on his voice before openly smirking as he uncoiled his arms, perhaps to engage the pair. "It's just a shame you both won't get to-"

"Sheik!"

Tensing up the group of four swivelled their heads 'round to the source of the sudden noise and found a pair of rushing people.

Two familiar forms indeed.

Sliding in with a fairly acrobatic drift the green-clothed blur that was the Hero of Time skid into frame between the frowning Alwyn and Sheik, Master Sword and Hylian Shield drawn. Opting merely to march in alongside her student the firmly-frowning Impa stalked in after him, joining the ever-growing party of five. Turning her glower on the watching Scaverin the matriarch to the Sheikah clan opened her mouth to speak.

"I was wondering when we'd run into you...," the silvery-haired woman murmured out, leaning her head as she spoke. "How the tables have turned... hm?"

Scaverin ran his eyes across the clenched fists of Alwyn on the right, the similarly scowling form of Sheik on the left and the confidently smirking form of Link in the centre; realising just what she was suggesting the former bishop merely gave a helpless but angry tut.

"Tch...," the bald-headed summoner managed out before raising up his left robed arm horizontally. "You got lucky today boy...," he spoke, directing his hatred clearly at the similar-faced Sheik. "The next time I see you, you won't be so fortunate... I promise you."

With that he swept his left arm across his form and, like magic, his Aegir managed to cloak his form before the group; only his hateful narrow-eyed glare was left as he swept his arm to presumably vanish away


	35. Deal with the Devil

Chapter 35: Deal with the Devil  
Lingering Nightmares of the Past Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Neutiquam Erro" - Fire Emblem 10: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Wounded Warsong" - Silent Hill IV: The Room OST. Scene 4 (Second Half).

\--

Following the final liberation of Hyrule's grand splendour that is Lake Hylia and its Water Temple, the people of Kakariko and neighbouring lands cheer in high morale. Although having lost both Raynard Van Garrick and former ally Alwyn to the terrible military forces of the fearsome Ganondorf, Sheik and his rebellion manage to at last recover the subjugated Alwyn by utilising a technique he had previously researched.

In spite of locating the dark force that broke out of Kakariko's well in the Sheikah-built Shadow Temple, Sheik and Navi become separated from their constant companion Link following an odd puzzle meant to disconnect them. Although the Hero of Time encounters some disturbing sights within the sinister dungeon he miraculously meets up with the woman that taught him how to fight and, coincidentally, Sheik's mentor.

Impa of the Sheikah clan.

Seemingly similarly investigating the deep underbelly of the Shadow Temple with her own intentions, Impa clashes with right-hand to Hyrule's monarch and former bishop of the Hylian military; Scaverin. In doing so she gains valuable information that manages to assist her and her young student in locating the missing Sheik and Navi.

Meanwhile Sheik himself meets and fights with the puppeteer and his puppet; now with Alwyn recovered to their ranks, the morale of the Hylianis Militaris Ordinis has increased and the tables have turned very suddenly on the once calculating Scaverin. With no other option left he chooses to retreat, leaving the heroic group to their short but very sweet victory.

Victorious but pensive the reinforced party of warriors come together to discuss their next possible course of action...

\--

Scene 1

"I must say Scaverin... before I allowed these failings to better strengthen our challenge but now..."

The listening bishop had to stop himself from trembling; even in spite of his normally steadfast nerves he found himself agonising very silently and slowly. Kneeling down before the throne of his king he respectfully left his robed arm draped horizontally forward, his hooded head held low in reverence...

But also in great fear.

Stepping up off from his throne however the firm-armoured form of Hyrule's current king joined his hands contrastingly softly behind him as he sauntered toward one of the room's gloriously bright windows. Casting his gaze out into the far distance Ganondorf narrowed his amber glare down toward the ruined city of Hyrule Castletown.

"You can never rely on anyone else, not forever...," the king stated astutely, his frown firm and sharp. "Where were the Hylians when my people were dying in the deserts?" He spat out hatefully, glaring on as he did. Scaverin visibly flinched but said nothing. "Hrm... still though...," the man began a third time, his scowl soon dissolving into a softer one as he turned his eyes to his side. At last swivelling around to eye his knelt-down servant he re-opened his mouth once more. "If it wasn't for you... we Gerudo would still be caged in our desert."

Again Scaverin opted to say nothing; remaining knelt down he even shut his eyes as if to display his loyalty and humility.

Staring on down at him for a second or two more Ganondorf turned and began marching on through the room back to where he once sat. Turning a final time he cast his gaze down at the former bishop he glowered on.

"Rise."

With that order the silent Scaverin similarly stood so to meet his ruler, a comparable frown etched onto his expression.

"You have been, by far, my most reliable asset in this conquest of mine," Ganondorf admitted in his hardened frown. "Let the boy and his ragtag group of fools run around that Shadow Temple," he said, shaking his red-haired head dismissively. "It is infested with the sacrilegious strength of those interlopers... those who know not the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it." He wisely stated, his eyes narrowed.

As before Scaverin opted merely to remain humbly silent as he listened.

"I will station you in the Spirit Temple, in my home; the Desert Colossus," Hyrule's king continued on. "It is the last bastion left that this rebellion have not touched," he spoke before re-narrowing his eyes with his earlier anger. "If you fail there...," he started in warning. "Not even I will have mercy on your damned soul."

Bowing forward silently and respectfully Scaverin shut his eyes as he at last opened his mouth to respond.

"Yes... oh lord God."

~

"Thank you... Impa-sensei."

Shaking her silvery-mane head in response Impa merely shook the matter off as she opened her mouth to retort. "How have things been going outside of this venture?"

The listening Link merely frowned uninterestedly as he sat far-off in a corner of the small dirty room they now resided in; two torches rested in the centre of the area along with a treasure chest containing a compass that the group cleared to unlock. With his muscled legs crossed Link shut a single eye as if in concentration as he ran a fingerless-gloved digit through his right ear, watching the two Sheikah talk before soon becoming bored.

"I see you haven't changed."

Re-opening his closed left eye Link swivelled them both around to find his ally and old-time companion leaning against the earthy wall, arms folded as always. A very small smile graced his blue watery complexion.

Alwyn.

It felt good to see him again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The Hylian grinned back, raising a straw-shaded eyebrow.

"I'd have thought you'd have grown out of that after seven years of aging," Alwyn batted back, similarly shooting an eyebrow up in response. "I guess some things never do."

"Yeah, yeah...," Link grinned on as he removed his right finger before placing his hands upon his crossed legs. "All the same it's nice to see you on our side again, especially after so many years." The youth said graciously this time, a genuine smile upon his face.

"Mm...," the listening Zoran soldier nodded, his smile slowly morphing to an agreeable but thoughtful frown. "I spent far too long working for that slaver."

"'Least you're on the right side this time huh?" Link tried with a light tone mixed in with a well-meaning chuckle. "Could always be worse Alwyn."

Perhaps infected by the jubilant youth's cheerful attitude the normally stoic Zoran shot back a very small grin before pushing himself softly up from his leant position on the wall behind him.

"Thank you, sincerely."

The former soldier's words managed to take the listening Hylian off-guard; raising up both of his eyebrows he could only stare on back wordlessly at the older man from his seated position.

"If not for you... then I'd still be on the wrong side," he spoke before continuing. "Maybe could have even bought it the big one."

"Oh come on...," Link shot back, his grin re-growing on his cheeky but well-meaning expression. "With your history I bet you'd be fine." He nodded toward the Zoran's injured head-fin, subtly pointing to the man's combat experience. In spite of the conversation's positive tone the standing Alwyn soon lost his small smile to a seemingly morose frown.

"It... happened in the civil war," Alwyn began, briefly eyeing the quiet Impa and Sheik in the top-right corner of the room; sure enough, as he surmised, they were still enraptured in their conversation. "At the time Hylian military thought that our fins were the source of our strength; it wasn't entirely wrong." The former veteran claimed, unfolding his arms as he spoke.

"I'm sorry...," Link genuinely apologised, his own smile changing to a sincere frown of his own. "I guess I'm too young to remember any of it."

"You would be," Alwyn replied, his pleasant smile returning alongside his comfortable folded-armed expression. "Better that than the former, believe me."

I don't doubt it, Link thought to himself in silent agreement.

"All ready?"

Turning their heads the seated Link and standing Alwyn swivelled their frowns 'round to find the ever business-like Impa standing before them, armoured hands resting on her hips. Re-opening her mouth to finish the seeming new leader of the joined group spoke.

"Come; the sooner we're done here the sooner we can move on."

–

2

"Take care in here," Impa advised over her armoured shoulder. "There's a trap hidden in the centre of this room."

"I see it auntie." Sheik nodded in agreement next to her.

Taking a look over his allies' shoulders Link narrowed a single eye in scrutinisation; unable to find anything in the stone-built room the group sauntered into Link could only blink curiously.

"I don't see it myself but...," Alwyn began from the youth's right before soon nodding. "Yeah, I can hear it."

How good does your hearing have to be to hear that, Link thought, a comically shocked look in his frown as he swept it on the Zoran soldier next to him.

Sure enough as the cerulean-eyed Hero of Time turned his vision 'round to the centre of the room it appeared sparse and barren. The stone and black-iron that was used to build the very room was spread out in a simple circular fashion that really drew attention to just how huge and unpopulated the area appeared to be. Resting at the north-end of the room seemed to be a single chamber that was kept shut by the large door blocking its entry.

"Sheik... Like Like up ahead."

"On it."

Surprising the young Hylian once more the pair of Sheikah showed off their impressive display of teamwork; acting on her instruction Sheik bent his body low and leapt upward, soon disappearing from common view as if to go deal with the threat ahead of their current position.

"Alwyn, Link."

Called to action the pair of allies very quickly swivelled their heads in their leader's direction.

"Pair of Keese on the walls." She pointed out simply, marching on forward as if she hadn't spoken at all.

"Yeah," Alwyn nodded in a hardened frown as he swerved 'round to narrow his eyes at the bat-like creature hanging on the wall to his right. "I see it."

Surprised but following his companion's example Link gave his group a lasting look before turning 'round to his left to face the hanging Keese. Taking out the finely-crafted hardwood bow he had procured from the Forest Temple he took swift aim at the Keese lying in presumable sleep and wait on the wall above. Letting loose the arrow he nocked back the youth kept a single eye shut in brief concentration before watching on as his projectile made contact.

SLICE-SCREECH

In a pained but ephemeral shriek the little bat lost its clawed footing and dropped slowly to the ground below it. As it soon dissipated away, as if having never existed at all, Link about-turned to find Alwyn behind him similarly having finished with his own task seemingly by use of his forearm-fins. Swerving his oceanic-eyed gaze 'round he found the super-fast Sheik pulling his knife from the squelching form of the dying Like Like that he set out to destroy earlier.

"What's wrong? You seem so pensive." Navi at last gave voice to her quiet concerns; as her voice reached his ears Link couldn't help but raise up his eyebrows in faint surprise before resetting his expression.

"No reason...," he responded with a disinclined shake of his head, hovering his eyes back to the front of the oddly empty chamber they resided in. "I guess I'm just... worried for no reason."

But it was a lie.

Even now he couldn't help but think of the odd young woman that he woke up to covered in dirty rags and, seemingly, speaking to an invisible presence.

Maybe there was some kind of connection to that dark force we encountered in Kakariko he pondered silently.

"We done?"

The group of warriors turned their attention to the similarly frowning and business-like Impa now standing next to her nephew and the entrance to the single chamber ahead.

"Good," she continued in a satisfied nod before turning to nod a second time directly inside the chamber before them. "Then let's go; our ferry awaits us."

~

Stepping through the door offered to them the group of adventurers turned their gazes all separate from one another, as if looking for possible ambushes and hidden spots for any enemy soldiers or creatures. When they felt confident Impa led the cautious party 'round to the left side of the long stone platform they stood on. To their right appeared to be a wooden ladder placed higher up on the wall and to the left was a huge grey stone marked with the symbol of the Gerudo.

"Auntie Impa..." Sheik began, eyes focused down on what appeared to be a rather large indentation in the ground to his right.

"Hm?"

"I think that, that stone..."

"Yes... I see it," the Sheikah matriarch nodded in agreement, arms folding as she swivelled her silvery-haired head 'round to face the men. "Alwyn, Link," she addressed in her usual abrupt fashion before issuing out her next order. "Bring that stone over here." She nodded forward in the large rock's direction.

Blinking in curiosity the named Hero of Time turned to widen his eyes in shock at the sheer size of it.

"Y-You really expect us to move that?" Link spluttered out in a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief. "It's huge!"

"Come on."

Sweeping past him with a single brotherly knock to his green-garbed chest Link could only turn his startled frown over to find Alwyn already marching toward it. Briefly turning to eye the two Sheikah behind him Link felt them grinning at him, presumably in silent banter. Rolling his sky-blue eyes back at him he about-turned to follow his Zoran companion.

Make fun of me, he thought indignantly.

I'll show them.

Stepping toward the right side of the large stone block he made certain to approach from the opposite side his companion did. Slamming a fist softly but firmly into his open right palm he faced the frowning Alwyn with a lightly playful grin on his face.

"You ready?"

"Are you?" The tall Zoran soldier shot back with a raise of his eyebrow, the ghost of a very small smirk on his expression. Link couldn't help but chuckle in his grin.

I missed this, he thought.

It's been too long.

With that silent observation the Hero of Time and his associate leant back their muscles and began to push. Although the weight surprised even the wide-eyed Link, eventually the pair found success and the large stone block began to make loud groans as it was forced along the path before it.

THUNK

Gasping Link at last allowed himself to rest by running a gloved hand across his lightly sweating forehead.

"Damn...!" He cursed out aloud, breathing out sharply as if to regain his breath. "That was heavy."

"What did you do all those seven years?" Impa shot over in a grinning tone, folded-armed and all. "Sunbathe?" The Sheikah smirked on good-naturedly. As he listened next to her Sheik couldn't help but chuckle silently to himself eliciting a similar brightened look from the listening Navi.

"Yeah, yeah..." Link grinned back, similarly folding his own arms as he did.

"All right...," Impa spoke as she turned her fiery-red eyed gaze toward the platform above her and the oddly flying ship that followed it. "We should proceed care-" she started before double-taking as the frowning Link grunted in his climb up the stone block. "Link!"

"What?" He threw over his shoulder as he grunted a second time in pulling himself up to the platform above them. "I don't see any ambush waiting for us." The confident Hylian shot back, a cocksure tone in the sound of his voice as he began to saunter toward the edge of the platform.

"That's not the-!" Impa hissed back, a newly annoyed frown gracing her complexion. Narrowing her eyes in her disgruntled huff she swept them over at the standing Zoran soldier to her left. "Alwyn!"

With a voicelessly frowning nod the listening ocean-man followed suit, leaping up with unsurprising acrobatic skill to pursue.

"Come on guys!" Link grinned over his shoulder as he turned his blonde-haired head briefly to re-face the group before hopping forward over the gap. "Last call!"

SLAM-SLAM

Shocked, surprised and stunned the two Sheikah could only watch as, somehow, a huge number of steel bars erected as if from no-where to cage the alliance in. Gasping in similar consternation Link swivelled his straw-haired head 'round to widen his eyes at the steel bars behind him; having barely made it in on time the frowning Alwyn turned to match his frown.

"I knew it..." Sheik murmured out, a lamentably worried tone on his voice.

As if triggered by his very words the floating ship that Alwyn and Link both stood on began to move and, with it, the high-pitched sound of the bells attached to its decoration's hands. Perhaps sensing their dire situation at having been separated Impa narrowed her fiery eyes as she moved her right hand to her mouth to amplify her voice.

"Stay close together; don't separate!" She advised the pair. "We'll meet up later!"

–

3

"Should this thing even be moving?" Link hazarded to ask as he hung his green-capped head over the port side of the vessel, peering down into the inky white fog beneath them. Shivering as he took note of its place in spite of the impossibility before him he couldn't help but wince. "Creepy..."

"Link!"

Warned merely by the surprised and worried voice of his Zoran companion the Hero of Time snapped his narrow-eyed gaze to his far-right as a sudden chill behind him made him turn and roll evasively to his right.

Landing safely at the bow of the ghost ship Link swept his knelt gaze forward and found his attacker the skeletal form of a Stalfos. Glaring back at him with its beady hell-eyed stare the deceased soldier seemed to regard the blonde with the same look it gave the glaring-faced Alwyn.

It was almost as if it was deciding whether or not to engage us, Link thought as he narrowed his eyes back at it.

Surprisingly the Stalfos opted to turn and face the oncoming Alwyn; perhaps hoping to catch the skeleton swordsman off guard he crouch-dashed forward, head held low. Pulling his stature up as he made his final approach Alwyn widened his ocean-teal coloured eyes as he spun around in a deft and acrobatic roundhouse kick. The Stalfos narrowed its beady red-eyed gaze as it rose up its shield to block and, as it did, it was sent drifting a few steps back.

Seizing the opportunity his close companion offered to him Link couldn't help but grin confidently as he spun around once; while he did, he unsheathed the Master Sword in a loud ring of satisfyingly-sounding steel before slamming the hilt dully into the undefended spine of the Stalfos ahead.

CRACK

Grinning on the straw-haired Hero of Time let out an effort-filled yell as he spun a second time, this time channelling fire-elemental Aegir through his weapon.

SLICE-SCREECH

In a pain-filled air-rending scream the Stalfos was sent scattering its bony limbs across the landscape of the flying ship the trio stood on. Just as with its other demonic brethren the skeletal swordsman soon shied away from the fight and, indeed from the very plane of existence in which they battled, dried up into a bout of green flame.

"All right!" The excited Link called out in the recovery of his previous strike, a satisfied grin spread out across his face as he swerved 'round to face his ally. "Beautifully-" he began in his self-assured grin; it was soon to drop however when he caught the faraway look in Alwyn's eye. "Done... what's wrong?"

"You shouldn't be so cheerful," the former soldier shot back, his ocean-teal eyes snapping over to narrow in scrutinisation. Shrinking back briefly from his older companion's criticism Link winced very shortly as he sheathed his tools. "We've just been separated from our main force."

"Come on Alwyn," Link attempted to barter with the sombre-expressed Zoran, his infectious grin re-growing on his face. "You and me are the best parts of that force!" The young Hylian bantered as he approached the river denizen before placing his left elbow on the tall man's right in a daring but affectionate gesture. "Don't ya think?"

Perhaps unable to remain angry or, for some other unknown reason, the listening Alwyn's frown devolved back into a low-held smile as he shook his head and shut his eyes, blue arms still folded.

"Just be careful," he warned as he stepped forward, head held lowly; the wide-eyed Hero of Time saw himself losing his footing, leading to a light comical display. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't care enough about you to see you lost." The Zoran spoke, a hardened and firm tone to his voice as he overlooked into the distance at the port side of the vessel. Link couldn't help but soften his earlier grin into a touched and emotional frown.

That's the first time I've seen him even announce anything like that, the listening blonde pondered to himself.

"I guess anyone can be weathered down over time." He added silently to himself, his frown very slowly switching to a warm smile.

"Come on, before it sinks."

Sure enough just as the Zoran warned him on the floating vessel they stood on appeared to be shaking and violently at that; raising his straw-haired eyebrows the frowning Hero of Time followed his companion's example by hopping forward, his brawny arms held out to both sides of himself.

TMP

"You're in an oddly good mood today."

Surprised by the fairy's voice's interruption Link couldn't help but swivel his green-capped head diagonally up to his upper right in curiosity.

"Especially considering what happened with Impa and Sheik." Navi continued on, pointing out the group's separation.

"I guess...," Link agreed rather tepidly, a new frown adorned on his complexion as he followed the lean form of his Zoran companion ahead of him. "I mean, Impa; I'm glad she's okay...," he began elaborating before lowering his eyes and furrowing his brow, as if in thought. "But... Sheik..."

"You still don't trust him?"

Though he was most definitely headed in that particular direction Link, somehow, faced the bright-blue guardian fairy with light surprise.

"Mm... yeah," the Hylian said, none true proud to admit to it. "If only the Shadow Temple was the last dungeon." Link added in a near-mirthless chuckle, perhaps an attempt to brighten the atmosphere in.

But, as always, it failed.

~

As the duo stepped through the iron door Link couldn't help but feel exposed somehow; the odd layout of the pillars dotted around the oddly claustrophobic chamber made him suspicious.

What was it Impa-sensei said to me, he thought.

"You must see... with the Eye of Truth."

Quickstepping to his right the narrow-eyed Alwyn swiftly avoided the Floormaster's sudden lunge for him before grunting as he roundhouse kicked it as it passed him. In a pained screech it was sent tumbling back to the colourless tiles beneath them. Before Link could open his mouth in an attempt to compliment the Zoran a second Floormaster behind him made the frowning Alwyn double-take in his direction.

Realising his companion's look was serious Link soon lost his smile in favour of a hardened frown of his own before swiftly about-facing. Sure enough as the Floormaster opted to similarly leap for him as the first did for Alwyn Link merely sidestepped to his left to avoid it. Spinning around in his action he unsheathed the Master Sword only in a cacophonous steel-sounding ring before crashing it down on the screeching monster. Unlike with Alwyn's the hand-like creature soon found its body evaporating into light blue-shaded fire.

"That's more like it...," Alwyn shot over in a firm-eyed frown, nodding in approving. "We work like that the whole way through and we'll reconvene our forces in no time." The former military man claimed, his baritone as calm as ever as he turned to continue marching on. Spinning the Master Sword 'round his superior left fingers expertly Link merely shot his travelling companion a frown before voicelessly following on.

–

4

"I don't like this..."

"Mm, far too suspicious."

Finding himself (for once) in agreement with his two companions Link frowned on as he entered the oddly dirty-brown room they resided in.

Strangely, a number of six pale-like hands were dug straight into the ground ahead of their position. With oddly claw-like nails and fingers they looked fairly threatening all in all.

"Dead Hands...," Alwyn muttered distastefully, lowering his stance as if for battle. Surprised, Link looked from his Zoran friend to the gaggle of clawed-like hands in the centre of the room. "Stay close; you don't want to end up in the middle of-"

Almost as if sensing his very warning a seventh unknown hand suddenly shot up from the ground in their vicinity; shocked and taken off-guard completely, Link could only back-dash to safety. Unfortunately for the young Hylian however, shocking both combatants a second time yet another pale, cold hand shot up from the ground to grasp at his right boot, successfully catching him as he flew through the air. In a horrified wide-eyed gasp the blonde hero could only turn his terrified gaze downward before he attempted, in vain of course, to swipe at the pale arm with the Master Sword.

"Link!"

Surprised that Alwyn called him by name the Hero of Time could only very quickly snap his blonde-haired head 'round to face the concerned Zoran. In spite of the swift-footed soldier however the wide-eyed Link was pulled directly down into what looked like an ebony-black portal beneath him, presumably formed by the Dead Hand that grappled him. Extending his sword-arm forward Link grit his teeth, terrified sweat dripping down his brow as his Zoran companion leapt forth to assist. Unfortunately for the trio however, their fingers merely grazed one another as the voiceless Link was dragged down into the abyss.

Only the sight of Alwyn's desperate-faced worry and Navi's horrified call echoed on after him.

~

"They'll betray you."

Widening his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time Link's consciousness at last returned to him; sweeping his disorientated and fearful eyes 'round his new surroundings.

Blackness.

Complete and utter darkness enveloped the field and, indeed, even as far as the blonde could see.

"Where am I...?"

"Where you are... isn't important."

The same voice that had woken him managed to startle the youth enough that he gasped; having his very thoughts responded to made him anxious to say the least.

"How...?" Link breathed out, his eyes narrowing very slowly as he swept his head 'round as if in search for the elusive voice.

"You'd be surprised what kind of things you can achieve when you give all your silly notions of morality up."

That made the listening Link furrow his brow contemplatively.

Who was this?

"Who we are isn't important."

Although his anxiety persisted through as revelations of the unknown presence's revealed themselves to him he attempted to stand steadfast regardless.

"It's who you are that is."

Link's eyebrows lowered in suspicious doubt as he listened to the oddly enrapturing voice.

It sounded oddly comforting in spite of the darkness hidden behind it; a kind of suspiciously calm mezzo-soprano.

"Where are your companions?" The voice pointed out in a fair-toned echo.

Suddenly realising he really was all alone Link couldn't help but widen his eyes once again as he turned to find nothing but the infernal darkness all around him.

"They've left you here... all alone."

Link flinched at the end of the voice's sentence, as if the words had suddenly struck a chord within him.

That's not true, he thought.

Alwyn tried to-

"Little Alwyn tried to save himself, dear boy."

The listening Hero of Time's eyebrows shot up and he growled in a show of impatience and distaste at having his thoughts read constantly.

"You truly think he cares about you? About your alliance with that whore of a princess?"

Link's oceanic eyes narrowed in half-suspicion.

How much did this person know?

Was it even a person at all?

"I once was a person, yes."

"Stop that."

At last Link re-found his voice; glaring through the endless darkness spaced out around him he searched fruitlessly for the demonic-like presence that seemingly hid from him.

"I apologise...," the voice began once more, this time in actual vocal reply, its mezzo-soprano tone echoing softly through the endless abyss they resided in. "It must feel extremely intrusive to so consistently be read through."

The way she said that, he thought.

Made it sound as if I'm a joke in comparison to her power.

"Make no mistake...," she spoke a second time, eliciting the youth to narrow his eyes once more. "I could kill you now with a single thought here if I wanted to."

"So why don't you?"

It was sudden and extremely dangerous to provoke her with such a sudden, fiery response.

But it felt good.

"I think I like you."

The voice's words, so strangely complacent, surprised him.

What game is she playing, he wondered silently.

"Believe me when I say this, Hero of Time... but you are here for a reason," she at last revealed. As she continued on Link felt the nerves around his shoulders tense up. "I require your assistance."

The listening Hylian re-narrowed his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time and in growing distrust at that.

"Why?"

"I have been here for a while," she claimed, her voice echoing onward. "It has been very vexing in looking for a way out."

Realisation began to dawn on him as he listened; his eyebrows rose and he turned his head to the sky as if the voice was coming from it directly.

"You were that thing in Kakariko... weren't you?"

Silence.

Link couldn't help but let a bead of anxious sweat drop down from his creased forehead as he awaited the voice's next answer.

"You're certainly sharper than what I was led to believe..."

Opting this time to keep his mouth shut Link merely stood and listened.

"Most definitely smarter than that fucking harlot you serve."

"What do you have against Zelda?" He shot back suspiciously, sky-blue eyes narrowing.

"What do you have against her, little one?"

Link found his straw-haired eyebrows rise up in light surprise.

"Oh yes...," the voice began again, an odd knowing chuckle in her words. "She used you, didn't she? And then she threw you away... like you were one of her fucking toys."

In spite of the woman's crude language and tone Link's listening frown twitched into an annoyed scowl as he listened, finding some sense of truth within it.

"Why waste your life in service to a woman that strings you along...?" The unknown mezzo-soprano posed to him, her voice bouncing off of the invisible walls around them. "If it wasn't for-"

"Saria..."

It was a single word that changed every meaning and tone of the conversation they spoke but it carried so much weight.

Especially for the listening Link.

His scowl melted away as he thought of his emerald-haired childhood companion.

"She tended to you, didn't she," the voice said, its words with little doubt in them. "Like a mother would have her son."

His eyes shut very slowly as his old angry scowl began to re-form on his face.

"I know it hurts," the voice continued on. "Why would she of all people make me give everything up for her?"

Link's lower lip began to tremble but only very slightly, still enraptured in a livid scowl.

"Think about it for a second; you're not the Neanderthal Sheik believes you are," the voice started again, this time in a hardened determined tone of voice. "Saria was a Forest Sage; one that is closely attuned to that of your country's royal family."

That's true, Link thought.

But what does it have to do with-?

"Don't you see yet?" The invisible persona confronted him with before continuing. "Even a child could see the connection. She is clearly in league with this princess of yours."

"And?"

"Now you're just being facetious..."

A laughing chuckle in her tone indicated a double entendre in her words; one Link could have taken two ways.

"Do you enjoy playing with your words?"

Finally tiring of the voice's trickery Link re-opened his mouth to respond. "Just tell me what you mean!"

"That friend of yours... is no friend at all."

In spite of his sudden anger Link soon found himself widening his oceanic eyes back at the presence before him.

"She may have raised you...," she claimed. "Fed you, even watched over you...," she continued on, eliciting a furrowed brow from the listening blonde. "But do you truly think she loved you?"

He didn't even wait to answer; full of fire, impatience and antagonism he attempted to reply.

"No. She didn't."

Although it wasn't difficult to tell his response the voice, as always, had easily anticipated it.

"If she told you what she told you in the Chamber of the Sages... then you know I'm right."

Link's cerulean-blue eyes narrowed in hot-flashed anger, partly for the voice's possible malicious intentions...

But mostly because he saw some scary sense to her words.

Why would Saria have told me to do all of this?

She would know how I feel about it all.

"The answer is right there."

This time, surprised, Link swerved his eyes back up to listen.

"She's been working with that princess since day one."

In spite of the fact this information had already been presented Link still couldn't help but furrow his brow in realisation.

Maybe this voice was right, he thought.

It would certainly explain a lot of what's happened.

And so quickly at that.

"Not the motives of a benevolent mother... is it?"

Link lowered his sea-blue eyes in reluctant defeat, his left eye twitching.

"There is only one thing that you can truly trust in this world."

Her voice, spoken with such dedication and confidence, left the listening Hero of Time curious and silent.

"Power."

As if in response to her follow-up, a noticeably dark aura-infused figure descended very gradually from the sky. Craning his neck to watch Link narrowed his eyes and found it strangely familiar somehow.

It was shaped like a knight's helm of all things with a long steel-coloured drop down its front.

It looked as if it was a battle helm.

Notably Link caught what looked like an eye in its left side.

Strangely he could feel the very Aegir emanating from it.

As strongly as the demonic presence felt back in Kakariko.

"Just take it Hero of Time..."

The listening Link narrowed his sky-blue eyes very conscientiously, deliberating carefully over the mezzo-soprano's proposal.


	36. Last Legs; Duel with the Forgotten One

Chapter 36: Last Legs; Duel with the Forgotten One  
Lingering Nightmares of the Past Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Urgency Drives Us" - Fire Emblem X: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Mysterious Coffin" - Castlevania: The Legacy of Darkness OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"The First Malformation of G" - Resident Evil II OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"The Second Malformation of G" - Resident Evil II OST. Scene 2 (First Half).  
"The Third Malformation of G" - Resident Evil II OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).

\--

In the Hylianis militaris ordinis' effort to restore the old royal family's rule they succeed spectacularly in numerous regions of their country, including the Zoran rivers and Gorons' mountains. Unfortunately however, now that they reach Kakariko Village's Shadow Temple, their march comes crashing to a halt like a massive wave of water against stone. Although their morale remains relatively high they begin the ponder the very merits of simply storming the Shadow Temple in a crude but effective way to save their commander and soldier.

The Shadow Temple.

Once built by the ancient Sheikah tribe not in the traditional sense that all other temples were built; as a house of worship...

This one was built to keep something in.

And it is in this very knowledge that Link very quickly begins to realise... as he becomes separated from his group of companions...

He begins to lose faith in them.

Although the party grows in number with their old companion Alwyn the group soon becomes a number of five. In their exploration of the deep underbelly of the nefarious dungeon Impa and Sheik soon become separated from their Hero of Time and former Zoran footsoldier. Having taken a ferry to the dead land itself Link, Navi and Alwyn join forces in an attempt to regroup to Impa and Sheik and bolster their failing morale.

Unfortunately however, in amidst their attempt, the trio end up separated yet again. While engaged in a fight with another Dead Hand Link soon learns just what the dungeon was created for.

He meets and talks with an oddly enrapturing voice within the darkness; although it appears to be sympathetic to his history and his plight... Link soon learns that a deal offered from a demonic-like form...

… can only be a deal from the devil.

\--

Scene 1

Letting out a single finishing grunt as he lowered his attacking arm, Alwyn allowed his forearm-fins to retract back into his body, the final strike having made successful contact. Sure enough, as it did, the growling Dead Hand shot its ugly head directly skyward. With an echoing crash it collided roughly with the ground and, very slowly, began to vanish from view.

Almost as if it hadn't existed to begin with.

"I hope Link's okay..."

Navi's comment made the listening Zoran briefly eye the hovering cerulean guardian fairy. Not once but twice they had separated in the Shadow Temple.

It was beginning to grow on Alwyn's normally strong nerves.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," the former soldier responded with, his oceanic-teal eyes hovering over to the forming of what appeared to be a treasure chest at the back end of the room. "He is your Hero of Time after all... isn't he."

"That's true." Navi said, a smile in the tone of her voice.

Almost as if having heard the pair's very conversation an odd arcane-like portal opened up abruptly to the duo's right; his eyes widened and his concern grown to match, Alwyn 'rounded his raised eyebrows to face the odd sight.

Strangely, the inside of the portal appeared to be just pure blackness.

An inky abyss of darkness.

Emerging out from the inside of it a familiar form stepped through, dressed in a similarly recognisable green garb.

The emerald-clothed Hero of Time himself marched on through the nameless gateway behind him, his darkened eyes shut.

"Link!"

Although Navi spoke his name with a similar cheer Alwyn couldn't help but furrow his brow forward at the odd revelation.

Strangely he had noted that the youth's normally bright-blonde hair had changed to a jet-coal black, as if to mirror the very onyx he had just stepped through.

As the listening Link rose his head up to face the pair of heroes Alwyn, again, found a change in the boy; this time his eye colour.

Narrowing his own eyes the Zoran stared on back suspiciously, a funny kind of nostalgia returning to him from their days of youth.

Something's not right here, he thought.

"Link, what happened to you?" The concerned guardian fairy spoke up a second time, casting her bright-blue light forward. "Are you o-?"

Alwyn stopped his small companion from flying any further forward by barring her path with his left arm wordlessly. Surprised Navi could only swivel 'round to face him.

"What's-?"

"Just wait." The Zoran soldier requested quietly, his eyes narrowing carefully at the youth before him. An odd kind of look lay behind the dark ebony of the watching Link's eyes.

Something else was definitely in there, Alwyn thought.

Was it Kage again?

Or was it something else?

"Link?" Alwyn tried at last, raising a single eyebrow upward as he did. "You in there?"

Seemingly sensing the seafarer's suspicion the standing swordsman's sulk soon switched to a slow smile.

The air began to grow even tenser than before.

If that was Kage, Alwyn began in pondering, his eyes narrowing once more.

"Then he'd have attacked me already."

With that thought the seemingly haunted form of the silent Link began to very slowly march forward.

Alwyn's nerves tensed up and he extended out his forearm-fin's, sensing a fight coming along.

"Ready...? Overgrown fish."

The odd way in which the Hylian spoke sent chills up the listening Alwyn's spine; his voice, though familiar, also contained a second voice in amongst his well-known one.

A strangely female one.

It sounded as if he was possessed.

Almost as if sensing the Zoran's thoughts the glaring Link began to pick his pace up and rushed toward the standing soldier.

"Time to die!"

~

Swerving his head in a sudden duck Alwyn managed to avoid the grinning Link's running swipe.

But just barely.

"What's wrong with him?!" Navi called out, a frantic tone in her worried voice. "Why is he attacking us?!"

"That ain't him," Alwyn stated astutely, shaking his ocean-shaded head as he glared on back at the turning form of his possessed enemy. "And it ain't Kage either."

"But then if it's not either of them then-?!"

"I have some idea..." Alwyn trailed off contemplatively, oceanic-teal eyes narrowing forward; as he spoke, the tall form of his new opponent very slowly about-turned to re-face him. This time the standing Link oddly chose to pose in a fairly feminine stance; his arms placed on his hips as he turned his nose up at the pair before him. The change to his eye colour told the watching Alwyn all he needed to know.

A deep evil-shaded magenta.

"What is a Zoran doing here?" The possessed youth spoke, his own voice mingled with a mesmerising but dangerous mezzo-soprano. "Looking for your former glory... amphibian?"

Although the nameless voice spoke to him in what sounded like a greeting the wordplay and the way she spoke most definitely made it sound like an insult.

A deep-cutting one.

But Alwyn was not one to be taunted so easily.

"That's none of your business." The Zoran soldier shot back, a hard-eyed glare to his face.

"Hmm...," the listening demon hummed back thoughtfully, its eyes narrowing similarly. "A former soldier are you...?"

Alwyn's scar-faced scowl twitched.

The demonic voice within the possessed Link laughed. "Yes...," she spoke, opening her host's set of teeth in a satisfied grin. "Oh... the civil war wasn't it...?"

The listening Navi swivelled her watchful light from between the two combatants, unsure.

Alwyn merely growled back at her.

How is she doing this, he thought.

The nameless voice tucked her host's left arm under his right elbow, his right finger raised up to rest just under his mouth contemplatively.

"Isn't it just a shame when you lose what's important to you...?" The demonic presence taunted him in a childish-turn of its voice, a chuckle in its tone. Narrowing her eyes beneath her host's body she spoke once more however. "Fin-less."

It was just a single word from his past and one that would have meant very little to anyone else listening; possibly even nothing.

But not to Alwyn.

Intense rage flew through the listening Zoran's whole body; he could barely stop himself from displaying it with the hateful glower on his face. Taking a tentative but angry step forward he elicited a laughing giggle from the watching demon.

"Alwyn no!" Navi hissed forward quietly. "You have to stay calm! We don't know what we're up against!"

"Yes we do...," Alwyn countered in an angered growl. "A fucking relic from the past," the Zoran claimed, his tone spoken with an odious tone to it, stepping very slowly toward the demonic presence before him as if to engage it in another fight. "A coward that hides behind its host to survive," he further insulted, eyes narrowing hatefully as he did. The listening nameless voice merely laughed back at him in response, almost as if satisfied by his reaction. "Nothing else to say?"

The woman's voice within her grinning-faced host merely turned his head up to laugh over at him wordlessly.

"Pathetic." Alwyn spat out before, suddenly, disappearing. With an abrupt raise in his speed the quick Zoran managed to seemingly vanish from all common vision and yet, still, the nameless demonic presence within the Hero of Time still seemingly followed him. Her posture remained unchanged as she watched seemingly air itself move rapidly across the dungeon-like room they resided in.

SHIING-CLANG

Unsheathing the Master Sword hanging from her host's scabbard the demon clashed noisily and savagely with her Zoran opponent's forearm-fin; sparks of holy steel and sharp blades flickered endlessly between the pair. As the pair stared one another down through the flare their weapons created the nameless demonic presence gasped in what appeared to be sudden stinging pain.

SSSSSSS

CLANG-CLATTER

Dropping the divine steel of the Master Sword to the ground the nameless mezzo-soprano cursed under her breath as she glared on down at it.

"Fucking Master Sword...," she cursed out hatefully, magenta eyes glowering. "You're all the-"

SLAM

Widening her eyes behind her host's own the demon snapped them up far too late to find her Zoran opponent slamming a roundhouse kick into her lower chest. Stumbling back a few steps she attempted to regain her breath and composure but acting on the momentum he had gained, the shrewd Alwyn wave-dashed forward before spinning 'round in a light but stinging roundhouse kick.

SMACK

Grunting this time in growing anger the demonic possessor was sent reeling back half a step, her host's Kokiri boots skidding roughly across the ground. Pressing further forward Alwyn charged in a quad-punch offensive before finishing up with a mid-range boot, scrunching his scarred face up in the effort he put through. Having had her guard opened up previously the interloper could only growl in further pain as she was sent through the air backward.

Using her host's agility and durability however she re-opened her eyes in a snap-faced scowl as she caught the ground below her. She flipped athletically backward before, at last, recovering her previously held position.

But not without displaying great anger at the inconvenience.

"Do you think you're funny?" She posed rhetorically, her brow furrowing at him and her earlier cheer seemingly gone. The watching Alwyn merely upturned his hardened frown into a lightly amused silent smirk. "How dare you...," she growled back at him, lowering her host's coal-haired head to match the slow rumbling the ground began to give; a clear indication of a raise in her power. "You call me a coward and attack me in such a fashion?"

"What can I say," Alwyn shot back, his smarmy grin telling her all she needed to know. "I'm a bit of a contrarian."

"'Contrarian'...," the nameless woman's voice spat out in an angry scoff before she brought up host's left hand in mid-air. Hanging it wordlessly in the atmosphere she narrowed her deep lavender eyes before snapping her host's fingers quietly but noticeably. As if by some kind of foreign arcane magic a pair of projectiles formed as if from thin air at the woman's diagonal sides. "Now... if you'd said hypocrite..."

With that turn of phrase the nameless woman gained her grin back as she outstretched her left hand forward and, as if triggered by her actions, the odd arrow-like projectiles were abruptly sent flying. Widening his teal-shaded eyes Alwyn brought up his left forearm-fin to form a defensive shield, successfully knocking the arrow-like weapons back. The demonic possessor tightened her glare and, with a similar kind of unknown magic, she managed to make the projectiles disappear somehow into smaller separate invisible portals.

"A little smarter than the average Zoran... hm?" The woman spoke behind the shell she infested, grinning on back at the ocean-residing man.

"I don't know why you look at my race the way you do," the soldier began, this time with a disapproving frown on his face. Leaning his posture to the side he glared on quietly as he continued. "Or, indeed, any other race."

The demonic possessor merely shot the watching Zoran military man a small wordless grin.

"All it does is reveal your own fear and ignorance," the Zoran claimed astutely, his eyes as fiercely confident as before. "The kind of criticism you open yourself to when you do that..." He trailed off, shaking his head in similar disapproval.

Losing her amused smirk the scowling-faced re-opened her host's mouth to respond. "Such as?"

"Virus."

"'Virus'...?"

"That's exactly what you are," Alwyn claimed, folding his arms in his hardened business-like frown. "A virus," he began before re-opening his mouth, presumably to elaborate. "Viruses typically can't survive without some kind of host," the Zoran spoke with a forward nod to indicate his obvious referral. "You're pathetic." He accused, his teal eyes narrowing at the tail end of his sentence.

"Pathetic am I?" The nameless sorceress mulled over aloud, running her host's left fingers through the air above her.

–

2

SNAP

With a second click of her fingers a single sword seemingly shaded into her right-handed grip. With yet another clack she called an alarming number of projectiles, this time formed around the surprised-eyed Alwyn's area, successfully surrounding him.

"It's you that's pathetic." The interloper spat forward before clicking her fingers a third and, seemingly, final time; reacting to her command the surrounding projectiles all turned on their target at once and dove toward him.

"Alwyn!"

Merely ignoring the frightened exclamation from the watching guardian fairy Navi, the magenta-eyed interloper glared as she continued. "Lowly Zoran," she growled, her host's head held high and haughtily, as if looking down on the smoke-covered form of where her opponent once was. Turning to at last acknowledge the guardian fairy hovering in the dungeon-like room she put on her earlier smirk and lowered her vessel's coal-haired head. "Where are your 'Sainted' Three now?" She hissed, her tone full of venom and hate. "They could not give one whit for-"

SLAM

Widening her eyes behind the body she rested in the sorceress could only gasp as she registered a sudden sharp pain to her cheek. Growling in anger she grasped at the Zoran leg that had so swiftly struck her with both arms before yelling in a mixture of effort and adrenaline as she brought him crashing back down.

SMASH

Coughing aloud in great physical agony the wide-eyed Alwyn attempted to grapple at his enemy's grip. Unfortunately however it seemed impossible between the strain of handling the sudden injury and the abrupt velocity in which it happened. Spinning in her offensive the wide-eyed interloper grunted once as she brought her sword down in a spiralling plunge, directly aiming for the man's face.

His eyes widened once more the Zoran soldier shot his hands up with similar lightning precision and managed to surprise the sorceress by catching the unholy blade mere centimetres before it made contact.

CLANG-SKRRRRR

In an effort-filled growl Alwyn struggled madly with the surprised-faced sorceress as he lay on the ground, sparks lighting up their scowling faces. Pulling deep into the recesses of his Aegir the laying Zoran soldier opened his mouth to give vent to the new-found exertion he displayed; an electrical sea-blue barrier of lightning encircled and encapsulated his form and, as a result, formed around his wide-eyed attacker.

BZZZT

Along with the dull hum that accompanied the bright-blue light that illuminated the room the possessor found herself screaming in blood-curdling physical pain, so much so that she decided to pull her peculiar sword back from her earlier assault in order to space herself away from Alwyn's defensive technique. Lowering his Zoran Aegir Art Alwyn raised himself to his feet and breathed on out heavily through his nose as he glared on back at the similarly-faced sorceress.

"You think you're smart doing that to me?" She snapped over in her firm-eyed glower. "Hm?"

"I'm glad you're okay...," Navi gasped out as she flew over to join the Zoran man. "Did she-?" The cerulean guardian fairy began before audibly gasping a second time, presumably as she noticed something significant. Curious, the watching nameless sorceress raised one of her host's coal-black eyebrows, eyes flitting between the pair.

Alwyn kept his right hand over his lower left abdomen; a not-so-obvious green stain.

Shaking his broken-finned head at the guardian fairy subtly and quickly the Zoran attempted to dissuade her from voicing her concern.

Unfortunately for the pair however their observant enemy managed to take notice.

"Oh what a shame...," she laughed over at the heroes' adversity, her indigo eyes full with a kind of menacing delight. "It's all downhill from here...," she restarted her sentence, this time with a malicious grin, her incisors shining in the dim light of the dank dungeon they resided in. "Isn't it... Zoran?" The interloper shot out with, a venomous tone lacing her petty voice.

As if triggered by her very statement the air in which she stood shimmered suddenly leaving the watching Alwyn wide-eyed and perturbed. Spinning his only free remaining forearm-fin to his left he gasped as he just barely managed to block the grinning-faced sorceress' re-appearance.

CLANG

As their blades clashed once more Alwyn found himself sweating in his exertion.

I don't know how long I can keep this up, he thought worriedly.

The end of the fight is coming...

"And it's not one I'm going to come out of unscathed."

CLICK

In a sudden snap of her fingers the possessor managed to vanish yet again, her host's form shimmering apart like sparks from some kind of cubed style of magic. As if by some kind of similar odd sorcery the witch re-appeared in a noticeable direction but, this time, her form had been doubled somehow. Taken off guard completely, having not expected the technique, Alwyn could only half-prepare.

Especially given his current condition.

With little other option the former Zoran soldier widened his teal-shaded eyes as he built back up his bright-blue shield of Aegir.

BZZZZT

This time it was comparatively smaller than the gigantic field of energy he had managed to maintain earlier and, spotting this, the watching pair of copies grinned over as they very slowly stalked toward him.

"Alwyn! What are you gonna do?!"

Navi's genuinely frightened call made the watching Zoran's scowl twitch.

"Navi...," he opened his mouth at last to speak. "Promise me something."

"W-What?"

"Get out of here."

"What?!" The cerulean-shaded guardian fairy squeaked back, her tone urgent and distress.

"There's no time to argue," the ocean-residing warrior threw over his shoulder as he backed up slowly, perhaps in an attempt to regain space from his stalking enemies. "I can't guarantee your safety any more than mine now get the hell out of-"

"No-one is leaving here today."

Gasping through his nose Alwyn halted his back-march to raise up his eyebrows at the synchronised concurrency of the two voices before him.

"Absolutely...," one of them began on the left, her voice speaking through Link's with a hint of maliciousness through it.

"No-one." The other on the right finished for her copy, a similar look in her lilac eye.

His scowl twitched a second time in response and, perhaps the frustration of his situation getting the better of him, chose to open his mouth.

"Leave this."

With that he grunted in effort as he tossed his right forearm-fin forward as if it were a boomerang; with surprising speed and strength it cut through the air and kept the copy engaged. Utilising the distraction he had created the former soldier, in spite of the biting pain at his side, crouch-dashed forward to advance on his remaining enemy. Managing to take the first copy off-guard Alwyn widened his teal-coloured eyes as he swept the host's legs, successfully knocking her over.

Spinning 'round in his advance Alwyn grunted as he used his remaining left forearm-fin to slice and hook the yelping and surprised interloper.

"All right!" Navi exclaimed, her cheer seemingly renewed. "Well d-!"

FRRRRR-SMASH

"Hrngh...!"

Interrupting the poor little pixie's voice the second copy of the nameless sorceress that Alwyn had previously thought was unavailable was, clearly, available.

In a single stroke she managed to advance forward by slamming Link's brawny fire-charged left fist directly into the Zoran's exposed chest.

Notably, his already open wound.

Alwyn could barely string a sentence together to accurately describe the colossal level of suffering he was dealt; a chilling fact surely reflected in the twisting speed he was sent back with. Spinning through the air his emerald-green blood was sent spraying and rocketing after him, even as he landed in his rough skid across the already dirtied dungeon floor.

"Do you like it?" The second copy, now the only, spoke as she sauntered slowly toward his fallen form it. "I call it the; 'Glorious Demon God Fist'," she giggled knowingly as she raised her previously lit left arm up to hang over her host's chin. "You Zoras still don't take very well to fire... do you?" She asked, raising a coal-coloured eyebrow.

Her words, though spoken with an obvious veil of derision, had proven true; staining the ground horribly in his life's juices, Alwyn could barely stay conscious let alone recover from the damaging blow he had sustained. His previously deep-sea blue skin had become horrendously toasted in the hellfire that he had suffered.

"It's like cooking fish." The nameless possessor laughed acrimoniously, looming her shadow over him threateningly.

Oddly, a woman's figure's shadow stood in place of the possessed Link's.

As if the watching heroes needed any other proof.

"Alwyn...!" Navi gasped, horror and concern lacing her horrified tone. "Are you-?"

Coughing loudly enough that his voice managed to stop her in her tracks the Zoran warrior turned his battered and charred eyes up to eye his standing enemy.

"Link... I know you're in there...," he huffed out, his desperate. "Don't let her...," he began again before stopping mid-sentence to wince and groan in his intense agony. "Do this..."

"Do you just not understand the severity of this situation Zoran?" The woman laughed over at him derisively. "You can reach your Hero of Time... no more," she elucidated, not without a certain level of satisfaction. "He couldn't hear you if you screamed." The sorceress hissed out, her dark grin illuminating the ominous light her face gave off.

Watching his enemy glare back at him through his companion's face Alwyn stared on wordlessly for a few seconds before his eyebrows rose in realisation.

There is still one entity left within him that can help, he thought.

Even if it's a dangerous one...

… it's worth the risk.

"M-Mewo... samasu..."

His tone, though laboured and broken, managed to deliver the ancient Hylian perfectly enough that the listening nameless interloper rose her host's once blonde eyebrows.

"What the-?"

"Mewosamasu...!" He repeated, this time with a little more fire; his eyes widened as he hissed the word out in a single breath. At last the word seemed to have some kind of an effect; an odd kind of burning-shaded aura of what seemed to be Aegir began to encircle her form. Along with it came the sudden fatigue that appeared to be overwhelm her; dropping to one knee she stared back down at the dirty surface below her, as if perplexed.

"W-Why...?" The nameless interloper gasped out, unable to make sense of the situation. When her voice took yet another addition to it however she twigged.

"Grnnngh..."

One of the interloper's magenta eyes widened in horrifying realisation, the other a hellishly angry fiery red.

"Shin'ozo..."

The sorceress stared down at the watching Alwyn in a similar mixture of anger and enmity.

"You didn't..." She breathed out in a stupefied gasp in amongst the third presence's animalistic growls.

Alwyn, in spite of his dying form, couldn't help but cock his grin up in spectating satisfaction.

"Tomete KURERU!"

The bellowing form of Link's body roared alongside the sudden axe kick he delivered, breaking apart the dark-brown ground savagely, leaving a crater of hellfire and wreckage. It was merely three words in ancient Hylian but three unmistakeably unique ones that belonged only to one persona.

Kage Narumono.

"Rgh...," the nameless woman growled back out, seemingly struggling to regain control of her host body. "Why do you have to be be in here?!"

The watching Alwyn began to chuckle, at first very quietly and audibly pained, but all the same he laughed at his enemy's expense.

"Alwyn, Navi!"

Turning her blue-aura 'round to face the dungeon's entrance the gasping Navi found their Sheikah allied pair standing before them.

Even in spite of the horrendous situation he was in the fallen Zoran soldier couldn't help but laugh on in triumphant success as he listened to his nameless adversary curse his name with as many imaginative and vulgar curse words as she could concoct.

Skidding across the grimy ground below him Sheik dove in beside the croaking and toasted Alwyn, his fiery-red eyes concerned and frightened.

"Sheik! Alwyn's-"

"I'm-" the Zoran managed to gasp out, his previously deep voice raspy due to the great pain he suffered. "I'm finished here... commander..." He claimed gravely, his laugh replaced by his ever familiar frown.

Sheik shook his blonde-haired head in adamant refusal. "No; I will not lose another-"

"You have no choice."

Impa's sudden voice made the listening youth wince in reply; he turned to find her looming over the two.

"I'll take care of this." The Sheikah matriarch claimed, a hardened growl to her tone as she cracked the fingers in her fists as if to ready herself for an engagement.

"More rats to the fray...," the woman spoke through the shimmering form of her host, swerving her angry purple-eyed gaze to face Impa's. "Do you think because of this... demon...," she hissed on out, clearly referring to the third presence within her host's body; the demonic Kage Narumono. "That you can even consider stopping me as I am now?!" The sorceress laughed derisively in a jeering sneer.

Opening her mouth to respond the stony-faced Sheikah merely gave her new opponent a simple comeback. "Shut up and fight."

~

CLANG

In a cacophonous shout Impa's iron gauntlets called out their echoing battle cry to match the reverb of her opponent's unholy steel. Sparks of fury and firm metal emanated between the pair, complimenting well with the unveiled gazes of sheer hatred they held for one another.

"Fucking...," the woman growled behind the host she hid inside, her similarly-shaded indigo eyes glaring back at the watching Impa. "Sheikah rat!"

In an abrupt turn of events the nameless sorceress widened her eyes and with it came a sudden switch to the atmosphere; realising what she was attempting Impa immediately shut her eyes and, utilising both her agility and exceptional hearing, broke her weapon's hold before swiftly ending the engagement with a quick roundhouse kick.

"Grngh...!"

In a pained and growingly angry scowl the black-hearted possessor glared over at the Sheikah matriarch.

"You think you're better than me?" She hissed over venomously, baring her host's frontal teeth at the woman hatefully. "Just because you still have your body?"

Impa, as before, said nothing in response; she only affixed her fighting stance to stare back at her opponent in waiting. The nameless sorceress turned her glower into a slow-spreading smirk.

"You Sheikah rats...," she continued on. "You're worse than dogs," she insulted in a deft narrow of her magenta-eyed derision. "Where are your precious Sainted Three now?" She re-started, a confident smirk on her face as she slowly began to pace around the room, eyes set on her enemy. Impa followed her with her own ruby-eyed gaze, unflinching in the face of adversity. "Oh yes...," she chuckled on, satisfied with the silence she received. "I know... how does the rule of a tyrant feel?"

Again Impa opted not to open her mouth thoughtlessly; she merely stared back at the grin upon her opponent's face.

"What will those fucking harpies do about it? Hm?" The nameless one continued on, this time with a knowing and hateful scowl upon her host's face. "Nothing," she hissed. "The only ones they care about... are themselves."

"That's not true!"

Turning her surprised-eyed gaze over her Sheikah opponent the nameless interloper soon found the source of the interruption; still kneeling over the fallen form of Alwyn, Sheik glared his similar-eyed scowl over to speak.

"Without the Sainted Three...," Sheik began again, shaking his sunny-blonde locks in obvious disinclination. "We would have nothing."

Folding her host's brawny arms the nameless interloper cocked a grin as she responded. "Hmph," she merely huffed back, seemingly satisfied by the response she received. "Just as I expected... from a dog so loyal to its masters."

"And what of you?"

Surprised by her sudden vocal reply the sorceress widened her indigo eyes as she 'rounded them on the firmly-frowning Impa.

"What of me?" She batted back in a lightly amused raise of her ebony eyebrow.

"You speak of yourself in that sentence you just said...," the Sheikah wisely stated, a stone cold look in her ruby-eyed gaze. "How does it feel to be trapped?" She pressed on in a wounding narrow of her eyes. Listening uncharacteristically silently the nameless sorceress' scowl twitched wordlessly. "Hm?" Impa pressed further, genuinely curious. "To have to steal someone else's skin just to walk the Light World again?"

"Fuck you," the woman's voice suddenly snapped back at her vulgarly; satisfied, Impa let a very small grin grace her complexion. "If it wasn't for your cursed Sainted Three..."

As if triggered by her own words her host's form soon began to shimmer and, with it, eventually vanish. Narrowing her cardinal-eyed gaze Impa swerved her silvery-haired head and back-dashed swiftly through the air in an attempt to gain space. Just as she had seemingly expected the scowling-faced sorceress re-appeared behind her, odd magical-like cubes left behind in the aftermath of her technique.

CLANG

Impa's iron gauntlet and her nameless enemy's unholy steel sword clashed noisily with one another, sending fiery sparks singing back down to the inky-brown ground below them. Following them in a hasty skid Impa kicked up dirt ahead of her in her recovery, eyes narrowed forward in searching. Sure enough the rushing form of the interloper before her was a ruse; a fact she had confirmed herself when her host's form began to glimmer in and out of itself.

The after-image technique.

Seeing through her feint Impa grunted in effort as she swung her left elbow firmly back behind her, eyes following her action.

SMASH

"Hrngh...!"

Uttering a pained but echoing cry of agony the nameless woman was sent back in mid-air by just a few inches; time slowed down for the pair and, as it did, Impa acted again. With her momentum spurring her on she pulled her left fist back and hovered in the air after her in pursuit. Bringing down her Aegir-charged gauntleted fist down crashing she managed to wake her enemy back up; widening her lavender eyes beneath the hero's skin she wore the nameless enchantress growled as she snapped up her peculiar-looking sword to block the overhead.

CLANG-SKRRRRRRRRR

Unwilling to give her impetus up so easily the narrow-eyed Impa merely attempted to push through the wide-eyed interloper's defence; bringing both hands to her blade's hilt she attempted to push back and the pair became entangled in a flare-infused struggle, their hatred barely veiled through the endeavour.

SMASH-CLATTER-CLANG

The unnamed sorceress found herself gasping in sheer fright and disbelief as her enemy's gauntleted fist broke through her very weapon, sending the once-thought unbreakable steel crashing noisily to the ground. Turning her shocked-eyed gaze skyward after witnessing the event she was just in time to catch the Sheikah's next offensive.

SMACK

Grunting in the sudden ache she found her wind knocked out of her when her opponent charged forward with a knee bazooka; clearly intended for her host's solar plexus.

"Hya!"

CRACK-TMP

In a deft standing somersault Impa managed to turn her simple kneeing assault into a back-flipping double kick, effectively launching her opponent high into the air. Even as she landed the Sheikah matriarch spun around to presumably deliver the final blow; her body gave off a dull but audible hum.

A sign of Aegir-infused techniques.

As the possessor found herself descending back down she widened her eyes in a heated gaze focused on her enemy's next move. Time seemed to slow down a second time for the two warriors and, this time, the black-haired one was ready; as Impa twisted her form around to raise her fist up the nameless interloper channelled Aegir through her own body to counter.

It all happened within the space of a single second.

Impa grunted as she revolved around to send her gauntlet down crashing but, as she did, the wide-eyed sorceress managed to grab it. Instead of beginning yet another struggle between the two however the growling interloper reached into her reserves to form a very arm of Quintessence; extending it down from her left side she managed to maintain her mid-air position before following through with her counter-attack.

"No; auntie!"

In spite of the frantic Sheik's call Impa was thrown overhead regardless; laughing with her effort the nameless trespasser, with both arms, pulled her across the air and for the ground on her other side.

DROOM-CRASH-CLATTER

The wounded but grinning-faced interloper back-dashed to safety from the smoke cloud she managed to create. Breathing heavily through the wounds she carried she laughed regardless and ran her host's hand over her bleeding mouth to wipe herself off.

"Fucking...," she began coarsely before soon chuckling in satisfaction. "Sheikah rats." She finished in a contented narrow-eyed hiss. Before she could regain much of her earlier fatigue however gasped as she suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath her.

DROOM...

"W-What the-?"

CRASH

Gasping in high-pitched terror she turned her horrified stare earthward to find the similarly-wounded but determined Impa's arm smashing up out from the dirt beneath her. Grabbing onto her leg just above the boot she managed to get just enough of a hold to follow up.

"N-No!"

Despite the woman's half-angry, half-horrified call Impa followed through regardless; with intense strength she managed to pull the very sorceress' form down toward her and, by effect, pull her own form up.

SMASH-CRACK

In a wordless and silent manoeuvre Impa managed to shoot up out of the dark-brown ground in an impressive dragon-like rising uppercut, directly striking the possessor on her host's chin.

The possessor's contempt for her enemy grew to meteoric proportions; a fact reflected in the woman's sudden back-flipping recovery and rise in Aegir power. A fire-like ruby-coloured aura began to encircle the possessed Link's form; mixing with the darkened indigo of the sorceress' own fiendish, ancient power.

"Auntie...!"

About-turning her silvery-haired head 'round to briefly eye her nephew curiously Impa rose a curious bright eyebrow upwards.

"Don't forget! The Shinzui!"

Impa nodded in remembrance.

That was difficult to overlook.

Swerving her head back 'round to face her enemy adversary Impa's fiery-red eyes widened as she just barely caught the sight of the scowling-faced interloper rushing her with an unrefined but deadly clothesline haymaker. Caked in what appeared to be fire-style Aegir, as a result of her host's natural affinity, and a mix of her own dark-red strength it appeared to her as a gloomy mauve colour.

Though beautiful to look at it was a technique that Impa did not want to end up on the wrong end of.

Ducking low in her wide-eyed frown the Sheikah warrior rose up to deliver a pair of piston-like punches; powered by the gauntlets on her fists she managed to counter-attack rather effectively and send the grunting possessed Hero of Time straight into the air. Having launched her Impa continued on with her combination by striking her with a quick trio of assaults; a high kick, jab and knee to keep her airborne.

Spinning around however the Sheikah widened her eyes as she struck the yelling sorceress with a fierce roundhouse, sending her spiralling toward the dirty ground below her. Keeping her form low Impa set her eyes on her fallen foe determinedly before crouch-dashing forward; in her advance she kicked up a sizeable amount of soil as she brushed the ground savagely in her rough leg-sweep. In a final follow-up Impa widened her eyes and, with some considerable effort, smashed her Aegir-infused fist directly into the nameless interloper's lower chest.

SMASH-CRACK

Coughing out mid-assault, time slowed down for the pair of warriors; as Impa recovered from the performance of her strike her sorceress enemy coughed out blood directly onto the Sheikah's very face. Blinking firmly once to rid herself of the blood Impa faced her frown forward to find her opponent, at last, spent; having fallen to the ground face up she groaned in pain, her host's body decisively used up of energy and Aegir.

"H-How...?" The growling woman stammered out, her host's brawny hand resting over her open wound, blood dropping from both her chest and open mouth. "W-We were... s-stronger th-than Sh-Sheikah..."

"No," Impa began in a low frowning sigh, turning to face her fallen foe, straightening her posture. "You weren't," she finished her sentence in a decisive narrow of her eyes; the listening and watching nameless interloper merely glared back in a thinly veiled hated gaze. "You could have been as strong as the Sainted Three themselves... but everything bleeds."

"Grngh...!" The woman growled back angrily.

"Even gods," Impa clarified, this time in a satisfied-looking smirk. Briefly eyeing the kneeling Sheik she turned back to face her enemy. "Hell of a shame you people couldn't have just worked with us," the Sheikah matriarch lamented quietly in her frown. The fallen interloper found herself eyeing the frowning Sheik; he loomed over her executing some kind of magical-like spell. "We could have used the company." She finished, a wisecracking grin evident on her expression.

"Exorcise me all you want...," the woman growled back ominously. "But know this..."

Impa let her grin drop in favour of her usual business-like frown and listened silently.

"Eventually... your 'Sainted' Three will turn on you...," she laughed in the Hero of Time's skin, seemingly confident in her words. "And when they do..."

The listening Impa narrowed her eyes wordlessly.

"No-one will hear your screams..." She said, ending her final words with a self-assured and foreboding laugh, her voice knocking off against the walls of the dungeon they once fought in.

The last thing the laughing interloper felt before being violently pulled out from her host was the absence of the warm and friendly Aegir she had grown accustomed to.


	37. Of Vai and Voe

Chapter 37: Of Vai and Voe  
History of the Desert People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Bittersweet Victory" - Fire Emblem IX: Path of Radiance OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"Chamber of the Sages" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST. Scene 1 (First Half).  
"The Way to Last Night" - Black Lagoon OST. Scene 1 (Second Half).  
"After the Rain" - Black Lagoon OST. Scene 2 (First Half).  
"A Cold Wind in my Mind" - Black Lagoon OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Under the Moonlight" - The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky OST. Scene 3 (First Half).  
"Gerudo Valley" - Super Smash Brothers V: Ultimate OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

In their effort to free neighbouring Kakariko Village from the looming dark presence of a ghost in its well, the Hylianis militaris ordinis find themselves at war with a forgotten foe; a relic from the days of ancient times. Though just recently having rescued their former Zoran companion, an old soldier from the civil war days, Link and his Zoran comrade soon become separated from Sheik's main force. As a result they go off searching for a way to re-rally their efforts in an attempt to locate the remaining rebellion forces.

Unfortunately however, it is in this very action that indirectly causes yet another horrid tragedy; while engaged in battle with a Dead Hand Link separates himself from his Zoran friend Alwyn and guardian fairy Navi. Somehow he ends up in a blackened abyss-like dimension and begins to converse with a suspiciously amiable entity within; a feminine one that offers him a third option and shows him a power not seen for an age.

The forgotten one's collection of coalesced darkness.

The 'Fused Shadow'.

A tool designed for two things; to seduce and to destroy... and seduce it has.

As the unwary Link attempts to make contact with this tool of darkness he is manipulated by the melodic voice of the forgotten one; an entity of malicious intent that was once sealed within the Shadow Temple by a civilisation predating the current. Unfortunately for the usually wise Hero of Time however this means that he is possessed by this nameless and hateful entity. When returning to the Light World the possessed Link almost immediately does mortal battle with his hard-won companion Alwyn.

As a result the allied forces' morale take an additional plunge as they come to terms with yet another loss; in the chaos and confusion of the battle that ensues Alwyn loses his life to the forgotten one. In having finally located her dark presence however the alliance take heart in restoring honour and light to the Shadow Temple as it once was.

With Kakariko's peace restored the Hylianis militaris ordinis turn their attention to one last retreat... a place once hidden on the other side of the country. A place where their tyrant ruler, king Ganondorf himself, was raised.

The Desert Colossus.

\--

Scene 1

Gloop...

A sound that the re-awakened Link could easily identify by this point.

How many times has it been, he thought.

Glup...

Four, he answered his own silent ruminations.

Not counting this particular time.

"Link..."

Along with the woman's broad, familiar voice came the sudden realisation of who the next Holy Sage was; as his eyesight finally began to re-shuffle itself around his surroundings and straighten the Hero of Time at last got a good look at the wavy form in front of him.

"That's you in there, isn't it? The Hero of Time?" She spoke a second time, this time half-curious and half-joking, a light grin in her face.

Impa.

Link couldn't help but grow a small apologetic smile on his face. "Y-Yeah...," he answered, rubbing the back of his green-capped head rather sheepishly. "Thanks for-"

"Freeing you a second time?" His mentor quipped, her silvery eyebrow shooting up to match the humorous grin upon her face. Link laughed very quietly through his nose; a short expelling of air as he briefly shut his eyes in remembrance to their very first engagement with Kage Narumono.

How nostalgic, he thought.

"As you have already probably have guessed...," the Sheikah matriarch began once more, this time her usual business-like frown adorned. "I am the Shadow Temple's Holy Sage."

Link nodded in understanding, unsurprising and all. The listening Navi stayed thoughtfully silent as she hovered between the pair of heroes; only the sound of the dripping water and dreamlike background permeated throughout the chamber.

"We Sheikah... have served the royal bloodline of Hyrule's monarchy throughout the ages, normally as attendants, such as myself, however...," Impa began again, briefly shutting her eyes mid-speech to only re-open them to continue. "When that tyrant attacked the castle... he was only after one thing."

The listening Link opted to remain respectfully silent as he listened, brow furrowing in knowledge.

"The very tool that our princess gifted you with; the Ocarina of Time," she claimed. Her frown soon switched to a warm and affectionate smile however as she advanced. "I can't believe in the short span of seven years you've grown so much," the Sheikah chuckled good-heartedly. "You were such a small boy back then..."

Link couldn't help but smile back wanly, a kind of similar feeling welling up within him as his mentor recounted their past.

"I'm proud of you," she admitted, this time with a positive nod. "Truly, I am," she clarified, a smile upon her normally hard and firm complexion. "I can see why she became so fixated on you." The Sheikah chortled cryptically, a lightly amused grin on her face.

This time the quiet Link could only raise a straw-haired eyebrow in curiosity.

Did she mean Malon?

Or...?

"There's nothing to worry about," the Sheikah continued on, as if reading his very thoughts. "Our princess is safe," she claimed. "Soon... you will meet her," Impa claimed, nodding once as she spoke, a new frown upon her face. "The first time in nearly a decade."

Link found his oceanic eyes descending down in wandering, his frown twitching in response.

He still felt considerable animosity and resentment with the princess Zelda for all she had manipulated him with.

Maybe I shouldn't say anything about it, he thought wisely.

"And when you do..."

Impa's firm voice made him re-raise his head out of his quiet ruminations to frown back at her silently.

"That is when we, of the six Holy Sages, will join forces to seal up the tyrant-king and return peace to this grand country," the fifth Sage elaborated on, a thoughtful frown elucidating her words. "I must stay here... you continue on," she began again before narrowing her eyes forward. "Take heart," she stated, perhaps in an attempt to raise his morale. "There is not far left to go now; one more Holy Sage... and then..."

As if to finish her words the familiar high-pitched whine that Link knew all too well echoed within the Chamber of Sages.

FLASH-SHIIIING

As with the others a medallion of pure-dark indigo flew down to meet the frowning Link's open-armed grip. As it descended down the Hero of Time narrowed his eyes to thin slits in preparation for the next flash of bright-white light that was sure to come. Only the sound of Impa's wise voice echoed dreamily through his mind as it did.

"Please... take care of her!"

~

"You are certain?"

"Yeah...," the Moblin answered back gruffly, running his beefy arm across his pig-like frontal face. "He said to make sure he don't escape or he'll punish you both."

"Punish us?"

"I think he's forgotten who raised him, don't you Koume?"

The standing Moblin merely exchanged an unsure clueless shrug with the second Moblin he was attached to; seemingly merely the messenger. A pair of giggling old women stood at the foot of the grand chamber the Moblins resided in; a kind of throne room. A dim-sunset shaded carpet ran along the similarly-coloured floor-tiles that eventually curved at an angle to the exit of the room. At the back-centre of the chamber sat a pair of seats seemingly pre-designed for the duo of giggling old crones.

"Indeed, Kotake," the first old woman grinned on as she twirled her absurdly-sized broom around her fingers expertly; a sign of deceiving strength. "I think it's time we show him up Kotake, don't you?"

"Oh yes Koume...," the second spoke as she shambled into frame, an almost identical smirk etched upon her wizened expression. The only difference between the pair of old crones was a similarly-shaped jewel encrusted into their foreheads. While a big, beautiful blue sapphire rested in the speaking Kotake's head, a blood-red ruby sat just above the quiet Koume's eyes. "Perhaps it's time we give that boy what for..."

Exchanging an unsure shake of his head with the second Moblin the first turned back to face them before pressing forward a robed figure standing behind him.

"Anyway...," the pig-like masculine form grunted once before gesturing toward the robed figure before him. "The king asked me to send you him."

"Aha...," Koume murmured stepping forward from her throne to examine the form before her. "You must be he..."

"The one our boy has so much faith in...?" Kotake asked curiously as she stepped forward to join the growing group of three, turning her narrow-eyed stare from her watching sister to the unknown figure before them. Eventually the form raised up their arms to lower the hood they wore and their appearance was at last revealed; the bald-headed look and monk-like disposition was a clear giveaway.

Man of the cloth and of the former Hylian military; Scaverin Estienne.

Bending his knee and shutting his eyes in a show of respect the frowning former bishop knelt down on one knee, his bald-headed skull positioned lowly in reverence. Extending out only his right forearm forward in a horizontal position the right-hand to Hyrule's monarchy stayed respectfully silent, as if to display his doctrine.

"Now, why on earth would he send you here master Scaverin?" The watching and grinning Koume began deceivingly, a knowing smirk playing on her old lips.

You know exactly why your king sent me down here, the silent Scaverin thought.

He knew better than to open his mouth however.

These were two of the most powerful women in the country; things could go either very well for him here... or they could go horrendously badly.

Especially in this current political climate.

"Are you a quiet dog, master Scaverin?" Kotake added to her twin's greeting, an identical grin on her gnarled expression. "We haven't heard you say a single word upon arriving here..."

"My apologies... ladies Twinrova...," he began at last, his eyes still shut in his knelt position. "But I'd thought it'd be wiser to err on the side of caution." He admitted in honesty, re-opening his eyes in his bent-head bow but only very lightly.

Seemingly similarly satisfied, the smirking sorceresses swerved their fingers upward in an obvious gesture for him to stand.

"Rise."

With that the frowning former priest rose up to his feet once more this time on somewhat equal footing with his new benefactors and commanders.

"You're certainly a smart cookie for one so close to the Hylians...," Koume re-started her sentence, her grin ever enduring. "It shall be a pleasure to have you here."

"You know of the rebellion coming here though... don't you?" Kotake pressed, a curious eyebrow rising up as she hovered toward the business-faced Scaverin.

"Of course," he answered in a deft, loyal nod. "I will do everything in my power to deny them entry."

"Even if it costs you..."

"Your life...?"

The sisters' grinning words were answered one-by-one and so quickly successively that the listening Scaverin almost briefly lost his normally resolute composure.

"Naturally," the former bishop nodded in his confident, yet grave, frown. "God's will... is my will."

Exchanging a single, knowing look with one another the listening Twinrova sisters couldn't help but giggle with one another, as if in knowing of some kind of private joke.

"Good... you will need it."

–

2

"Have you put on the-?"

"The cloak, thing yeah," Link sighed back in response as he fingered the light-grey tattered material attached to his neck; it was a long shawl-like cape that descended down as far as the youth's boots. "Do I even-?"

"Yes, you need it Link," Sheik interrupted his companion with a half-annoyed tone to his voice as he oversaw materials and other items on a table below him. "We're going to the desert... after all."

Sighing very quietly through his small nose Link frowned disappointedly as he pulled very gently and loosely at the tightly-held cloak on his neck.

"It's just not my style." The Hylian admitted, a similarly tranquil tone to his voice.

"You don't like looking cool?"

Navi's rather obvious attempt at lightening the atmosphere at least wasn't unappreciated; the listening Link couldn't help but quip up a grin in her direction before hovering his oceanic eyes back down to his cape-like cloak.

"I think it says too much," he claimed in his light smile before blowing a single strand of dark-blonde hair from his eyesight. "But I guess you can't put a price on safety huh."

"That you can't."

Sheik's grunting call made the frowning Hero of Time turn his similarly-haired head in his leader and commander's direction. Reaching over he took the second backpack the Sheikah had seemingly prepared for him; a knapsack filled with provisions and tools with which to survive in their next venture. Turning to leave he followed his friend out the small house they had used as a base of operations; a little domicile in the centre of Kakariko Village. Stepping out into the sunlight of early morning Link winced as he ran one of his gloved arms across his eyes to block the immediate glare that threatened to blind him.

Nice day, he thought.

Looking down from the small incline the house was built up on he found a surprising sight indeed; raising his straw-haired eyebrows he stared back down only to find the smiling phoenix-haired Malon seemingly waiting for him. Confirming his silent suspicions she waved over at him modestly with one of her joined hands at her front as she stood dutifully next to her former ranch's horse and Link's current constant companion.

His initially curious frown slowly upturned into a soft smile of his own as he descended down the small incline he stood upon.

"Malon...," he greeted in a pleasantly surprised laugh. "What are you doing here; it's like... the crack of dawn."

"You do remember what I do for a living, don't you?" The ruby-haired young woman quipped at him, lowering her head ever so slightly in her cheeky grin.

"I guess it slips my mind every now and-"

As if to silence him the grinning girl reached forward amidst his amiably chuckling words to gently lock her lips with his. Surprised but not altogether undesired Link rose his eyebrows before briefly shutting his eyes to join her. Although he began to find himself enjoying the embrace it wasn't long before he could feel the unflinching gaze of disapproval from his commander, just as before.

What's wrong with him, the Hylian thought to himself.

"They're saying you won't be back for a long time," Lon Lon's administrator spoke, her similarly benign tone of voice whispering through to his small and pointed Hylian ears. "It's-?"

"The desert; yeah," Link answered for her, frowning back in a positive nod as he rested his grip upon her hips. "I'll be okay," he chortled back good-heartedly, shaking his blonde-haired head back at her as if to dismiss her inevitably worried notions for his safety. "Couldn't have come this far otherwise."

"I suppose...," she hummed thoughtfully as she ran a finger through the locks in his hay-shaded curtained fringe, as if to straighten it. "I'll miss you when you're gone though."

"I know," he soldiered on through her apprehension with a patient smile. "I promise I'll be careful." He finished, this time with a shut-eyed grinning laugh. When she leaned forward to whisper in his ears he followed suite, expectant for the inevitable good-bye kiss.

"You better."

~

Even as the pair of resistance soldiers marched on via their steed the frowning Link could feel the tension in the air.

Having recently just lost their Zoran companion two nights previous the last thing on the Hero of Time's mind was any possible bad mood that Sheik was in.

Even if it always seemed to concern his relationship with Malon.

"Sheik..."

Turning his similarly blonde-haired head 'round half-way to eye him cautiously the Sheikah leader opted to remain silent, as if to wait on what was coming.

Link found himself staring down at the increasingly dry ground Epona trotted on below him, a thoughtful furrowed frown upon his expression. "With... what happened with Alwyn..."

"Stop."

Half-surprised by his reaction the young Kokiri-born Hylian rose his blue-eyed gaze to face the Sheikah silently. Merely marching on ahead up the wooden rickety bridge leading up the hill above them Sheik opted to continue as his comrade followed.

"There's no point in having any regrets," the Sheikah wisely stated, an unsurprisingly firm tone in the soprano of his voice. "People die every day and especially in this age."

Link lowered his eyes in shame; the guilt of having murdered not one but at least three people, even if under influence, ate away at him.

"Alwyn and Raynard would both want us to keep going," Sheik continued on; he nodded as he spoke further. "That's what I believe."

Link creased his frown in reticent rumination.

He's probably right, the youth thought quietly to himself.

"Doesn't make it any less wrong for doing what I did though."

"Ho there!"

Wrenching his head out of his usually negative thoughts the blonde hero swivelled his eyes up 'round to find a man half-way across the chasm before them. In between their current position and the Gerudo's Valley resting ahead was what appeared to be an unfinished bridge; on the other side the Hylian man appeared to be waving them down, standing next to a rather conspicuously-placed white tent.

"Well...," Sheik began, this time with a notably defeated sigh in his voice. "I'm glad we made it before sundown but..."

The end of his sentence was obvious in what he was trying to convey; with the tools they had they could seemingly only gain access to the canyon on foot and without their horses.

Oddly Link felt a competitively-gained grin grow on his face, as if a challenge had just presented itself.

"Out of the way."

Raising a curious eyebrow upwards Sheik did just that; in commandeering his steed to the right he offered Link all the space in the world.

"Ready Epona?" He whispered, hunched over in his light grin, eyes focused forward.

"Link?" Navi hissed in his own ear, her tone urgent.

"Link what in the name of Nayru are you-?"

CRUMPLE

With a powerful smash of the dry ground beneath her hooves the narrow-eyed Epona abruptly burst forward, her destination seemingly the unfinished bridge before her.

"Link no!"

Despite of Sheik's admonishing yell the pair found themselves on the bridge's front in no time and, eventually, beyond it.

NEIGH

In one powerfully athletic leap Epona managed to prove the next-to-impossible by jumping the chasm of water beneath them.

No walkway needed.

Her point, and indeed her master's, proven the pair pulled their march up before the stallion called up to the sky with a second mighty bray, as if proud of her own efforts.

Uttering no words after, as if to drive his very confidence home, Link merely turned around in his seat to flash his grin Sheik's way. His ruby-red eyes widened in what appeared to be a mixture of disbelief and shock the Sheikah could only shake his blonde-haired head, as if in disapproval.

–

3

"Thank you again for allowing us to-"

"Hey it's no skin off my nose," Mutoh laughed off the ever polite Sheik in response over the warm glow of the campfire not far from the tent behind him. "I've always appreciated what you men and women do for this country," he claimed, this time in a confidently expressed folded-armed grin, nodding as he did. Sheik smiled softly beneath the white scarf he usually wore so well. "I only wish my own men were still here to share a drink..." The carpenter lamented quietly, spinning the glass bottle of alcohol in his hand over the sparks and flames before him.

"Well...," Sheik began across the fire, briefly exchanging a frowning nod with the silently listening Link next to him. "Link and I were planning to press on into the Gerudo Fortress anyway so-"

The glass bottle the man carried gave off a light sloshing sound as he brought his bald-headed gaze back up in surprise. "T-Truly?"

"Y-Yes," Sheik laughed back lightly in response, his eyes briefly wandering down as if unsure on how much to reveal. "Our investigation takes us further into the desert."

"It won't be easy," the moustached carpenter spoke, this time in a hushed whisper as he shook his naked-haired head. "My men... they all disappeared in that fortress...," he whispered on, nodding his head in the garrison's direction to his right and their left. "Almost as soon as they set foot within-"

"You realise they're supposed to thieves, right?" The listening Link shot back impolitely, frowning past his raised right knee and elbow resting upon it.

"Link!" Sheik hissed over admonishingly, eliciting a comically wincing shrug from the listening Hero of Time.

"It's fine," Mutoh laughed the matter off with a deft shake of his head. "Yes... my men were aware; it is why they opted to travel to the fortress."

"So then-?"

"Yes...," Mutoh answered the narrow-eyed Sheik's reply with an affirming nod. "It would certainly appear that the Gerudo have taken my men regardless of how they approached them."

"Ain't no issue to me," Link answered for his commander, leaning back to lie on the dry ground below him. He raised up his brawny arms behind him to rest his blonde-haired head upon before similarly raising up his muscular legs to cross and hang over in a casual form. "If they're holdin' 'em we'll get 'em."

Though Sheik shot him a disapproving glance the look on the listening carpenter's face was grateful enough.

"You're far too kind master Link...," he began, a wide smile upon his exterior. "A-Ah... would you like some?"

Raising his head up very lightly from his position tentatively, the Hero of Time blinked back at the sitting Mutoh across from him. Finding him leaning forward to offer the glass bottle of alcohol he stared over at it in light surprise.

Oddly enough, he also found a suspiciously sweaty look in the shut-eyed carpenter's expression.

"Don't."

Navi's eminently-quiet voice made the unsure youth lean into a decision he was going to decide regardless.

"Nah I'm... okay," he frowned back in a deft shake of his own head. "Thanks though."

The look on Mutoh's inevitably disappointed face made him realise he made the right decision.

"Come now Link..."

Flinching in his laying position the listening blonde swivelled his eyes in his Sheikah commander's direction. Leaning over to pick the glass bottle up Sheik smiled beneath the scarf he wore and nodded forward in great gratitude.

"We mustn't insult our new host," the Sheikah smiled beneath his shut-eyed tone before raising the bottle up to consume some of the liquid. Link rolled his oceanic eyes in a mixture of annoyance and expectance before leaning over his free right hand. Though he coughed in a high-pitched wince as he re-affixed his scarf to hand the bottle over to the laying Link, he seemed to be all right regardless. "It's... strong."

"Yeah I'll bet." Link muttered back in a disinterested frown as he snatched the container off him before raising it up to take a quick swig. As the liquid touched his tongue the youth almost shrank back.

He's not kidding, the former Kokiri thought.

"Maybe it's just because it's my first taste of liquor."

Regardless of his colourful ruminations however the liquid did taste somewhat odd and not at all how he expected. He pushed it to the back of his mind and sat up briefly as he handed the drink back over to the smiling Mutoh, uttering a murmuring of thanks.

"I already owe you two so much...," the carpenter's supervisor spoke once more, frowning in a dreamlike state as he stared down at the sloshing liquid below. He shut his eyes sombrely as he continued. "Maybe I can... make up for it later..."

"Uh?" Link pressed, half-curious and half-asleep from his lazy-placed seat.

"N-Nothing!" Mutoh laughed back, shaking his head of any possible concern the group may have had; even as the smiling Sheik eyed him in a friendly glance. "Nothing... at all."

~

"... nice body..."

"... other one?"

Link groaned, his senses groggy.

"Sh!"

"He's waking up..."

Am I dreaming, he thought.

Opening his cobalt-coloured eyes in a gradual motion his surroundings were, at first, very hazy.

As they often are when he awakes for the first time.

Strangely, he suddenly noted his arms and hands were oddly bound.

Alarm and great concern washed over his body like a freezing cold sheet of rain when he realised what had happened; sweeping his eyes ahead of him he found himself bound and tied and locked behind iron bars.

Navi was right, he thought.

"And so was I."

Shame Sheik isn't here for me to tell him I told you so, the youth added, a childishly annoyed frown twitching on his face.

"Okay Sav'vei, now that our tasty-looking plunder is awake..."

The sudden husky contralto's interruption made the wide-eyed Hero of Time swivel his green-capped head up only to find a crowd of chattering fiery-haired women. With oddly-chosen fashion the women all seemed to sport baggy indigo-shaded trousers, pointed shoes and similarly-coloured cloth-pieces around their upper-front area. With veils resting around their faces and fearsome-looking glaives to heighten their already intimidating auras.

This must be the Gerudo, the narrow-eyed Link thought.

That carpenter must have sold us off...

So what about Sheik and Navi?

"It is time to begin the auction!" The first Gerudo spoke, a grin on her face and evidently strong within her words. "Now, I believe a starting bid at one thousand rupees is more than fair," she began before temporarily swerving her head 'round to grin at the wide-eyed Link. "Especially for this particular voe..." She spoke, her words seemingly as suggestive as the narrow-eyed look in her gaze.

I don't like that look, Link thought.

What does she think I am; a piece of meat?

"Good for companionship!" She continued on, swivelling her crimson-haired head 'round back to face the crowd before her. "A little help around the house," the woman extended before briefly eyeing the worried Hero of Time in his cage behind her. "Or even... a little toy to play with every now and again."

Link's eyebrows both rose up in fright and he held back a blushed gasp. "That's exactly what she thinks I am." He answered his own ruminations in a comical grimace.

I have to get out of here now, he thought.

Before I end up as someone's next play toy.

"I'll take that bet."

"Thousand rupees and five!"

"One thousand and ten!"

"Thousand and fifty!"

Link attempted, in vain, to shut the women's clamouring voices from his head as he worked tirelessly and frantically to free himself. Finally however the ex-Kokiri stopped himself from moving when he, very quickly, realised he wasn't getting anywhere substantial enough to justify continuing. Shutting his sea-shaded cerulean eyes he tried, with success this time, to shut the Gerudo women's voices from his concentration. Only the sound of his former mentor's advice seven years in the making echoed through his mind.

"When all seems lost and your back is up against a wall..."

His eyes sealed shut in his effort he began to calm his nerves and, as he did, found his apprehension dissipate very gradually away.

"Quieten the storm of your mind."

As Impa's words echoed through his consciousness the voices of the Gerudo women, not far from him, slowly began to sound far away indeed as if across the very country.

"Only in a calm state and with absolute focus will you be able to form Aegir without a catalyst."

It was small at first; a tiny spark that ignited at the base of his left index fingertip...

But it was all he needed.

The spark gave birth to a tiny but strong enough flame that ate away at the firm ropes bounding his wrists. Even as it devoured away at the firm material it, surprisingly, dealt no damage at all to the silently-frowning form of the concentrating Hero of Time.

For fire was his very affinity of Aegir.

When his hands were at last free he chose not to broadcast his newfound freedom to the hungrily bidding women before him; instead, as he re-opened his eyes, he fixated his efforts on waiting for a chance.

A chance that came when the final bid did.

"And sold for a very generous bid of ten thousand rupees!" The Gerudo woman at the front of the cell cried out with an approving clap of vertical applause. She turned her amber eye-shadowed gaze suggestively on him behind her as she re-opened her mouth to finish. "She's going to make good use of you, little voe." The Gerudo commander grinned over at him, a kind of knowing menace in the tone and meaning of her voice. Link stared back in an emotionless frown, finding it very difficult not to smirk back at her, instead choosing to voice his similarly confident thoughts to himself.

"We'll see."

As two Gerudian guards stepped over to the cell's door, the important-looking woman stuck a key through the lock's mechanism; like magic, the door vertically shot up to allow them entry.

"Now's my chance!"

With that thought spurring him on the young Hylian at last allowed his confident grin to grace his expression before moving to action; as one of the guards stepped closer, her glaive's blade outstretched forward, Link reached forward in a sudden snap of his body. Snatching it out from her surprised and gasping grip the green-clothed adventurer spun forward and used the hilt to smash into and directly wind the glaive's original owner, successfully incapacitating her.

As the inevitable counter-attack came flying horizontally his way he rose up his eyebrows contrastingly as he ducked the wide swipe. He resumed his grin as he spun around a second time in counter-assault by sweeping the woman's legs to send her, and her weapon, crashing noisily to the stone ground beneath them.

CLANG-CLATTER

As the imminent chatter of the watching Gerudo women soon turned to chaos time slowed down for the grinning Link as he stood back up from the recovery of his former assault. Hovering his position to the right he moved toward the door as he locked eyes with the weaponless Gerudo warrior. She could only stare back at him, half-awestruck and half-enraged, a strange kind of feeling seemingly washing over her. As if to twist the very blade he had used to engineer his escape, as Link passed the agape-faced Gerudo woman, he kissed at the air between them.

A silent but extreme insult for the proud thievery and honour the women normally stood for.

Time resumed its normal flow and, as it did, Link laughed in growing morale of his efforts paying off before using the glaive he carried and, his Aegir as a vault, to bounce up into one of the thieves' hideout's small windows.

Although the chaos he left behind gave the watching second-in-command to Nabooru a sick feeling in her stomach, she licked her fiery-shaded lips in growing hunger, her appetite at last having been stirred up in years.

"You're gonna be one tasty little voe..."


	38. Revelation of Light

Chapter 38: Revelation of Light  
History of the Desert People Arc  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, this is just a Fanfiction.  
Featured Music: "Neutiquam Erro" - Fire Emblem X: Radiant Dawn OST. Chapter Briefing.  
"The Boy's Got Wings" - YS III: Wanderers from YS OST. Scene 2 (First Half).  
"Limits of Power" - YS VS. Sora no Kiseki OST. Scene 2 (Second Half).  
"Gerudo Desert" - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST. Scene 3 (Second Half).

\--

Having finally gotten through the black sheep that is the Sheikah's 'Shadow Temple', the Hylianis militaris ordinis' morale grows ever higher for they are now just one step away from their endgame goal; liberation of their grand country. However this emancipation was not won without its fair share of blood being shed; in the chaos and confusion of the battle that inevitably ensues, Alwyn is lost to the forgotten power of an ancient foe.

Although his noble Zoran's life is lost the allied forces and the adoring public that follow them honour his sacrifice and the impressive life he led as a former survivor of the Hyrulean Civil War. With this morale driving on the current survivors Link, Sheik and Navi carry on the royal princess' wishes as well as her attendant's by carrying on their efforts into their enemy's place of birth.

The Gerudo Valley and the Desert Colossus.

In their expedition to the searing hot landscape that is the Gerudo Valley the trio of heroes are met with a man familiar to those who live in Kakariko; a carpenter, by name of Mutoh, that once worked on the construction of that area with the four men he supervises over. While visiting this man's camp, Link and Sheik soon discover that his four assistants have gone missing; having gone to the Gerudo Fortress, perhaps in an attempt to join the band of thieves, the men have all become lost, presumably having been kidnapped.

Although the big-hearted Sheik and Link agree to free the four men from the Gerudo women's clutches the heroes are soon lulled into a false sense of security by their supposed comrade; while resting in his camp he drugs them with a simple bottle of alcohol to incapacitate them both. Seemingly in collusion with the Gerudo Mutoh agrees to hand over the two men perhaps in an attempt to barter back his four remaining men.

Unfortunately for him however, his plea falls upon deaf ears.

Despite all of these setbacks however, when Link awakens to the sound of being sold in a slave-trade auction, he manages to break free of his bonds by sheer will and memory alone. With valuable lessons taught to him by his former mentor and now Shadow Sage Impa, the Hero of Time manages to embarrass the normally proud clan of thieves by stealing a glaive and escaping. However with his own equipment and close companions having been kidnapped and stored elsewhere he finds a new challenge.

One in which he must rely purely on strategy and a lack of resources...

\--

Scene 1

TMP

Dropping from the rafters high above the narrow-eyed Link landed with a near cat-like precision with a quiet anchorage to boot. Keeping his form low he swept his oceanic-eyed vision around one of the many light-brown decorated hideouts he had managed to infiltrate undetected. His eyes set on the prize guarded within the room by two Gerudo he kept his form low so as to avoid discovery, creeping forward to view the room's layout.

It was a relatively small room with a few crates in the far-right corner and a single table in the centre. Around the table were two small wooden chairs and, resting atop the heart of the similarly hardwood table, were two pots and the object of Link's search.

A glass bottle containing a cerulean light.

His similarly sky-blue eyes found themselves darting between the only two Gerudo guards in the area; a pair of women relentlessly patrolling the area.

I can take one out, he thought.

But what about the other?

"I guess I could kill them...," the Hero of Time pondered silently, a distasteful frown grimacing his complexion. "But I'd rather not..."

Twirling the steel glaive he had so generously liberated from his escape Link advanced forward in a low-slinking march. Even as he approached the unfortunate Gerudo guard to his front he kept his noise to a minimum and found success in his well-chosen ambush. In sweeping the woman's legs he grunted and slit his eyes very suddenly as he abruptly hit the hilt of his temporary weapon across the back of her head.

His oceanic eyes swept over to his left where the only remaining sentry was posted; as expected her patrol naturally took her in the same direction her comrade was in and, as a result, she found herself gasping in shock. She had barely any other time to forge a reaction however for, as the stealthy Hero of Time moved quietly to her undefended rear he pulled the glaive's hilt back.

SMACK

In a wide-eyed grunt he sent the final guard down clattering next to her comrade. Breathing out a frowning sigh of relief through his nose he at last let his guard down as he lowered the weapon he carried. Turning his examining-eyed gaze 'round to the initial object of his pursuit Link re-gained his light smile as he reached down to paw at the glass bottle beneath him. Twisting the cork out of it he turned his smile into a finely-drawn grin as he listened to his small companion cough and hack.

"That was horrible!" The newly rescued Navi hacked out in tiny little squeaks as she shook her blue and bulbous form as if to rid herself of any dirt she had accumulated. "I thought they were going to keep me in there forever."

"Don't thank me or nothin'," Link shot back sarcastically, raising up the glaive to rest across his broad shouldered stature. He gave the guardian fairy a similarly sardonic smirk as he spoke, re-opening his mouth to follow up. "It's not as if I braved great peril to-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...," Navi sighed, a roll of her eyes in the tone of her voice as she slowly sauntered back over to face him. "What happened to Sheik; is he okay?"

"I guess that's what we're gonna find out," Link replied, his grin soon morphing into a more cushioned smile. "I'm sure he'll be fine...," the youth began again, a somewhat joking tone to his voice as he turned toward the east exit of the chamber. "I'm more worried about my equipment." He opted to finish with, a boyish beam gracing his colouring once more.

"Is it just me or did you change somewhere along the road," Navi began again, her words more of a statement than a question. "I don't know if I like it." She added, a similar kind of bantering cheer in her voice.

"You like it," the Kokiri-born Hylian shot back a knowing, if joking, tone in his voice as he grinned, adding a jesting little wink to his words before nodding his head toward the exit. "Come on," he urged in his grin-turned-smile. "We got one more man to rescue."

~

Keeping his form ever low Link swept his frowning-eyed gaze 'round the remarkably small chamber he had entered.

If they're keeping him in here they're not being very secretive about it, he thought.

"Here she comes."

Navi's hushed whisper made him nod in agreement, listening for the quiet but noticeable footsteps. Even as the single Gerudo guard began to step into frame Link was on the ball; the glaive he held onto was poised back the way, hilt ready for assault.

SMACK

Even as she dropped to the ground, near wordless, Link kept his expressionless frown upon his face.

"Sure this is-?"

"For the last time yes," Navi reiterated, an obviously irritated sigh in her tone. "I could feel his Aegir in this direction."

Briefly eyeing the guardian fairy hovering next to his left shoulder his frown twitched a little before he re-faced the front and the only remaining chamber forward.

Something about this doesn't feel right, he thought.

As the doubtful Hero of Time navigated through the final corridor he kept his senses and his guard up. Stepping through into what appeared to be a large chamber, especially for a jail cell, Link couldn't help but furrow his brow contemplatively. Two torches remained lit in the two far-off corners of the room and an obvious large locking mechanism lay in the cell's vertically-placed iron door.

Just as Navi had previously predicted the bound and tied form of Sheik sat in the centre of the moderately-sized cage. Raising up his similarly straw-haired head however Sheik widened his one visible ruby-red eye at him, as if in surprise.

"N-No, Link stop!"

TMP

Just as both the listening Link and Navi had feared, a group of around four Gerudo warriors descended down from the rafters above them, easily surrounding the heroes.

"Tsk..." The green-clothed youth muttered out, a disappointed twinge in the newfound frown he had re-acquired.

"This is bad...," Navi began, a worried tone to her voice. "We're heavily outnumbered."

"And outdone. In every possible way."

The duo swivelled their heads 'round behind them to find a fifth Gerudo standing in watch, slim and tan arms folded.

She looked familiar, Link thought.

She was the one doing that auction thing.

"There is nothing that you can do, little voe," the flame-haired woman grinned over at him, not without an odd sense of satisfaction to her contralto tone. "When it comes to smarts...?" She began again, a fiery eyebrow rising up. "And sheer skill...," she added, this time in an amused chuckle. "We have you beaten."

Link matched the Gerudo commander's stare with his own sea-eyed gaze; he couldn't help but upturn a side of his own watching mouth into a very small grin as he listened. "That right?"

She lost her previously confident smirk but only temporarily. "What's up your sleeve this time?"

Link's grin merely widened as he tilted his blonde-haired head back at her; a look of sheer assurance if she had ever seen one.

"Hmph...," the Gerudo woman growled back, her scowl twitching in response. "Now; kill him!"

–

2

The first one came at him almost as quickly as she had appeared; from the boy's seemingly undefended rear she shot forward in a deft assault with her twin scimitars. Bending his body backwards Link swerved around to face her before slamming his right boot into her exposed lower-half. In a pained grunt she was sent pelting back the way she came, rolling across the chamber's dark-brown ground.

CLANG

Thinking quickly and, having expected an inevitable assault on his undefended side, Link brought up the glaive he carried to block the second Gerudo's double-bladed jump attack.

SMACK-CRACK

In two deft motions, while the second was held with his effective counter, Link spun around and dealt a wide roundhouse kick. Successful in his aim he managed to strike the two remaining Gerudo swordsmen and send them a safe distance away from him. He turned back his grin to flash it in the face of the second Gerudo woman and found her glaring hatefully back at him through the sparks in their weapons.

They're quick, he thought.

But I'm easily stronger.

If I can match their speed...

With that thought driving him on the Kokiri-clothed youth rolled forward, abruptly breaking his defensive hold; as a result, the second Gerudo before him gasped as she stumbled forward a few steps from the sudden movement. Grinning in confidence as he swerved to re-face her she could only widen her eyes in shocked surprise at his agility before receiving a boot to the face. Even as she was sent spiralling through the air one of the recovering Gerudo swordsmen was hot on his tail, looking for an opening.

Swivelling his oceanic-eyed gaze 'round to face her he narrowed them both before abruptly ducking to avoid the first woman's spinning, jumping assault. As she hovered safely away from him he rose himself back up to meet his next opponent's mid-range stab.

CLANG-SKRRRR

Grinning back as before Link held onto the glaive with merely a single hand, staring back through the endless sparks of their tempered steel before, with some effort, pushing forward to break the woman's hold on his raised defence. With a surprised gasp she was sent stumbling a few steps back, giving the blonde youth precious space and time; in utilising it he pressed forward before slamming the hilt of his weapon into her lower stomach. She gasped out, coughing beneath the similarly crimson-coloured veil she wore on her mouth before her amber eyes rolled to back of her head. Collapsing wordlessly she appeared to grow unconscious.

One more down.

His senses tingled very suddenly and the youth swerved his head 'round to widen his eyes at the agile-moving Gerudo on his right; he snapped his body to the right to evade the woman's sudden thrust before raising up his own weapon to block her inevitable horizontal slice.

CLANG

He met her slice with a simple defensive manoeuvre of his own before narrowing his eyes and reaching forward; surprised, the Gerudo attempted to counter with her free right arm's weapon but a swift kick to her shin made her gasp and drop to her knees. Following through with his earlier attempt Link narrowed his eyes forward as he pulled on the woman's remaining left hand to yank her in and successfully took her scimitar from her. Tossing it behind him it clattered noisily and with finality next to the watching Gerudian commander's tipped shoes. She stared in a look that could only be described as mild annoyance as she watched her enemy disarm her last guard before swiftly putting an end to her consciousness.

THUMP

In dropping the final reign of their resistance Link about-turned on his position and shot the watching and nameless Gerudo warrior with the same confident smirk he had done not mere minutes before.

"Hmph...," the maroon-haired woman huffed back in an upward nod of her head. "Still can't say I'm impressed."

"Really?" Link asked her, a well-meaning but nevertheless amused chuckle to his tone. "And why is that?"

"Well... you're a man," she shot back, a similarly snarky tone to her voice. "And there's only one man that's ever proven his mettle around here..."

SHIING

Almost as if to emphasise the validity of her words the screeching sound of steel sharpening itself made the listening Link's light smirk twitch; the nameless Gerudian woman unsheathed two huge scimitars, almost as if from thin air. Although he was still equipped with the guard's glaive he had procured so neatly earlier he would have preferred to have his trusty Hylian Shield and Master Sword.

CLANG-CLATTER

Surprising him for the second time since meeting her the fire-haired woman tossed over the two very objects of his ruminations; the beautifully designed Hylian Shield and holy Master Sword. He could only blink down at his pair of inanimate allies, as if to verify the fact that they were even there, before swivelling his head back up to stare over at her questioningly.

"I thought you deserved a little treat...," she spoke, a haughty quality lacing her words. "My little Labrador." She finished as she cast him a hungry-looking grin.

She called me a dog, he thought.

"Labrador huh..." He murmured thoughtfully as he bent over to pick up his trusted tools, noisily screeching against the ground beneath them. Affixing the sheath across his back and the belt that kept his equipment safely on him he re-raised his head and his position to face her once more, this time fully equipped. "I guess that'd make you a hyena." He finished, this time with a grin of his own as he unleashed the Master Sword from its sheath on his back with a cacophonous ring, pointing the holy steel directly at her.

The Gerudo's superior smirk was soon lost to her as the counter-insult took root; she watched him with a new-found sense of anger and determination.

"You'll pay for that remark," she said, her tone filled with the quiet steadfastness that she had seemingly become known for. "When you get to hell...," she began again, her grin very slowly re-growing. "Tell them Shalia sent you."

~

In a surprisingly super-fast motion, the standing Shalia shot her scimitars down in a twisting and descending plunging attack, having seemingly previously leapt into the air to gain momentum. Instead of opting to defend against the savage descending strike Link rose up both his straw-haired eyebrows as he tucked lowly and rolled evasively to his left, narrowly dodging the woman's otherwise accurate assault. As she spun down and cussed at her microscopic miss she managed to break apart the tiles her opponent once stood on before swivelling her eyes to her right to follow him.

The Gerudian swordsman air-dashed forward to give pursuit before narrowing her amber eyes after him; as she began to draw close with his retreating form she rose up her two scimitars and licked her fiery-shaded lips hungrily.

SWIPE

In a delayed sense of gratification the grinning Shalia let out a laugh of delight as her assault seemingly struck true; even as her curved swords' blades both passed through the retreating form of her foe without drawing any blood however she found her brow furrowing in rapid curiosity.

It was only when his form began to shimmer that she widened her eyes in a realised gasp.

An after-image.

Descending from high above her she furrowed her brow in an effort-filled grunt as she shot both her scimitars behind her in an attempt to block.

CLANG-SKRRRRRRRR

As the endless steel sparks passed between their weapons, eventually, Shalia soon found herself stumbling forward and dropping one of her precious swords in the savage exchange between them.

RING-CLATTER

The Gerudo's second-in-command dashed forward in order to gain precious space from her disturbingly-close foe before cursing under her breath angrily when she realised her enemy's intention; even as she turned her body 'round to face him she caught the satisfied grin upon his face as he kicked away her remaining scimitar to a safe distance away. Surprising her a second time however he narrowed his oceanic eyes before pulling back his right hand; she affixed a suitable stance to ready herself for the incoming technique and could only widen her eyes when he grunted as he tossed his very Hylian Shield forward.

WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

With impressive dexterity and reactionary timing Shalia just barely managed to strike the sailing shield with a swinging slash, effectively halting its flight. When she turned her amber-eyed gaze back up however her enemy was gone; it was only when the Hylian Shield began to descend back down to earth that he re-appeared. Almost as if to mimic his inanimate tool's actions the grinning Link shot down from the air, this time in a deft and accurate dive kick.

The youth's eager manoeuvre managed to catch both the floating Hylian Shield and her standing form; as he hung briefly in mid-air he opted to shoot her a wink alongside a kiss at the air between them.

An echo to their very first meeting.

Just as soon as the engagement began it ended all the same as the grinning Link grasped at the arm-guard of his shield and back-flipped safely through the air. Shalia growled after him as she swiped at the air he once took root in with her remaining scimitar, exotic eyes glaring on as he flipped away from her. Using the space and time he provided her with however the Gerudo swordsman wave-dashed to her immediate right in an effort to reach her second weapon.

When she reached an appropriate angle the woman grunted in effort as she slammed the blade's hilt with her tipped shoe, successfully sending the weapon ascending up to meet her.

WHUCK-WHUCK-WHUCK

She snatched the scimitar skilfully out of the air before widening her gold-shaded eyes when she caught the grinning form of her opponent rushing toward her. Opting to meet his low-held run she narrowed her gaze forward before shooting off ahead, both scimitars at the ready. Finally, as they passed, the pair of excited swordsmen fired off forward like arrows fired from ballistas.

CLANG-SKRRRRRRR-CLANG-CLANG

In a single furious motion the two exchanged a super-fast series of slashes and strikes that ensued within the space of a single second; unfortunately for the gasping Shalia however, as she attempted to meet her opponent's double-edged sword with her pair of single-edged blades, she found very quickly to be outmatched at least in her weaponry.

CRACK-CRICK-TEAR-SMASH

Time slowed down for the wide-eyed form of the Gerudian woman; she could only stare off into the sky above her, as if in disbelief, as the last shards of her steel scimitar flew through the air. When she caught the glint of her enemy's own piece however time very quickly renewed its flow for the Gerudo; she barely had time to raise up her remaining sabre to block the Hylian's incoming spinning assault.

CLANG-SKRRR

In one swift motion she gasped as she was sent skidding a few steps back, a mixture of her fortitude and brisk action managing to aid in her defensive manoeuvre.

"Still feel sure?"

Shalia shot her flaming eyebrows up to match the curiousness on her expression only to find her blonde foe giving her the grin that he initially met her with.

She couldn't help but feel a very odd combination of amourousness and anger.

The Gerudo warrior narrowed her eyes over at him wordlessly before bending back to toss a few throwing knives his way; widening his sky-blue eyes in response he bent his own body to his immediate left in order to avoid them. Unfortunately for him however, that was just the reaction Shalia was looking for; she gave pursuit by leaping over to his seemingly undefended left side and shot him a grin of her own as she rose up her scimitar.

With no other avenue left to him Link glared as he shot up the Master Sword's holy steel to block horizontally.

CLASH

This time it was Link who found himself on the defensive; in a startled gasp he was forced down on one knee from the woman's misleading physical strength. She hung herself mid-air with use of her Aegir and channelled the rest of her power into a vertical two-handed strike.

"Damn girl...!" Link hissed out, a bead of effort-filled sweat dropping from his forehead as he spoke, genuinely alarmed at the level of might she deceptively commanded. "Actin' like I just kicked your dog!" He added, this time with a laughing grin behind the exertion of holding her offence back.

The woman, however, didn't find his anecdote amusing; in an annoyed narrow of her eyes she grunted as she lowered her legs to kick off of his tools in a recovering back-flip. Even as she descended down behind her, her form soon began to shimmer and the watching Link furrowed his brow, recognising it.

She's trying to rush me down, he thought.

"Not likely."

In her vast speed and movement the Gerudian warrior found herself re-appearing in the younger swordsman's back side; a not-so obvious flank attempt. He sidestepped her thrust attempt before responding in a graceful roundhouse kick, directly swiping her across the face; she grunted as she was sent back the way she came. Grinning hungrily as he faced her in his about-turn, the youth gave pursuit by knocking his Kokiri boots off of the dry ground below him. As his fire-coated Aegir boosted him off in his northern air-dash he shot forward, as if a super-fast projectile fired off toward its ill-fated target.

In colliding with the wide-eyed Shalia he grunted similarly as he caught her in a gripping embrace; the pair rolled forward in a savage entanglement that finally ended toward the end of the wall ahead of them. When the Gerudo gasped to turn her fire-haired head up to find her enemy rising up the Master Sword she could only widen her eyes in horror.

Only to find him grinning and using his free right hand to lean forward and softly grip her veiled nose.

"Honk!"

An unspeakable volume of rage seared through her back, lighting her normally tan complexion as bright-red and yet somehow, the woman found herself tossing her only remaining weapon away in a noisy ringing clatter. Even as she tore the Gerudo's veil she wore on Link blinked down at her, genuinely curious, before raising a blonde-haired eyebrow down at her as she reached up her two hands to snake very slowly 'round the back of his neck.

A conflicting sense of alarm shot through his body.

What's she doing, he thought worriedly.

Is she trying to kill me like this?

But she can't if she doesn't have a-

"Mm...!"

His eyebrows lifted up in consternation when he suddenly felt his lips locked with hers; her eyes were seemingly shut and yet, somehow, she appeared to know exactly what she was doing.

"What the hell's her game?!"

Almost as if to be reading his very private and inward thoughts, the shut-eyed Shalia growled in the disturbingly-close embrace they shared together, attempting to pull him closer to her. Even in mid-kiss she lowered her arms down and, shockingly, began to fiddle with his lower half.

CLANG-CLATTER

The boy's trusty Master Sword and Hylian Shield both went down ringing and echoing horribly within the jailed chamber, as if nails on a very chalkboard to the listening young Hylian; in his haste and rapidly-growing apprehension he dropped his very weapons he used to fight with in order to react appropriately. In spite of his calm, collected and composed manner during battle Link soon found his courage, and boldness, dissipating very quickly. He couldn't even hear the noise of his two close companions watching from a safe distance away.

"Hey!"

"Get off him!"

Shalia began to breathe fairly labouredly and, further surprisingly, the aghast Link found her knowing almost exactly where to look on his clothing to unhook his lower half.

Gasping in an unhealthy mixture of distress and shock the appalled Hero of Time re-hooked his lower half back up and raised a brawny arm to rest horizontally across his mouth, almost as if having been violated in some way.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Link sputtered over, one eye widened and the other half-narrowed in a comical show of terror and embarrassment.

As Shalia stood back up to face her former opponent she put a low suggestive grin and began to advance toward him; still overly cautious, Link's concerned frown twitched as he backed away a full step.

"And to think...," the fire-haired woman began, her throaty voice evoking another listening twitch. "I once thought you'd be useless." She breathed long and deep as she leaned forward to wrap her slim arms around his neck a second time, this time with a seemingly different intention. Link could only pull his head back from hers, an odd furrowed stare in his eyes, as if he was trying to work out an impossible calculation.

"I said get off him!"

This time the pair of combatants' attention was successfully garnered by the angry-voiced Sheikah far-off in the centre of the jail to the group's side. Link swivelled his blonde-haired head 'round to his left to find him fire-eyed and staring back before soon realising their eyes were on him. His barely visible cheeks took on a similar shade of red as he turned his eyes away from the two.

"Well...," Shalia re-started, a grin slowly re-growing on her face, her tan-shaded arms still hooked 'round her once-hated enemy's neck. "I suppose I can let out your friends now."

–

3

His head positively spinning following the explosive encounter with the seemingly maddened swords of the Gerudo women that kidnapped him, Link at last found found some reasonable reception. After his dreaded duel with Shalia – seemingly the commander of the Gerudo's military forces and, effectively their leader, while their current was absent – she saw fit to grace the heroes with a guardian angel in the form of a cardboard token.

A 'Gerudo Token'.

The Gerudo Token was effectively the group's protection; proof of the Gerudo's acceptance and respect. Although still feeling (mostly) flustered by his opponent's advances, Link was granted back the rest of his missing inventory and pointed in the direction of further west; into what seemed to be no-man's land. Seemingly having been impressed with overpowering not only her but, effectively the entire Gerudo militia, Shalia offered her underestimated foe a permanent place among them. Successfully embarrassed again however Link could only decline the older fencer as politely as he could, hoping instead to get moving.

"The house of worship you seek lies out in the Desert Colossus, far to the west," Shalia explained briefly in her low-held, folded-armed smile. As Sheik and Link both listened in they put the finishing touches on their equipment and supplies check, affixing their adventuring tools. "You'll have to pass through the Haunted Wasteland to reach it."

"Haunted?" Link pressed, half-curious and half-worried, turning his raised eyebrow on the woman before him.

"What are you so worried about?" She chuckled over at him as she stalked toward him; Link soon found his courage very slowly leaving him, a fact reflected by the step back he took from her. "After what I just saw...," she breathed at him as she drew uncomfortably close to him, eliciting the youth to swivel his blushing-faced eye away from hers. "You'll be just fine in that desert heat...," the Gerudo spoke, her amber eyes half-closed, her voice husky and similarly low. "So hot." She finished, biting at the air between them as if for effect; as a result the listening Link found himself flinching in response as if a child, full of remorse.

"What else will we have to be prepared for in this Haunted Wasteland?" Sheik spoke loudly enough to cut through the thick tension in the air as he stepped in between the two, his fiery-eyed gaze focused firmly forward on the frowning Gerudo woman. Though Shalia raised a fire-haired eyebrow at the odd intervention she seemingly opted not to comment on it.

"There are two trials," she began, tucking her left arm under her right raised one, bringing up her index and fore-finger as if to count them. "The River of Sand and the Phantom Guide."

"River of Sand?" Link pressed curiously, his earlier embarrassment fizzling out.

"It's essentially quicksand that goes on for a long distance," she explained briskly, a knowing grin upon her tan complexion. "It's taken a fair number of strangers over the years so... be careful in crossing it."

Sheik furrowed his brow and pressed at her a second time. "And the second?"

"This one might have you coming back to me...," Shalia claimed, her grin growing as she eyed the zig-zag faced Link. "Hon."

Link twitched at her attempt at a term of endearment, his earlier sheepishness soon returning.

"You better hope you really are a Sheikah," she continued on, this time nodding in the curious-eyed Sheik's direction. "The only ones who have passed through the Haunted Wasteland are Nabooru and those with the 'Eye of Truth'."

"Eye of Truth..." Link parroted under his breath as he listened, grasping at the words with a contemplatively furrowed brow, finding the words somewhat familiar.

"Without that...," Shalia began again, shaking her head as she did. "You'll both be back here before the night's over."

The listening Hero of Time found his unsure frown exchanged with the shaking-faced Sheik, seemingly the leader of the pair.

"Why not stay the night... hm?" The Gerudo leader began, sauntering around the narrow-eyed Sheik's path to stay out of his road. The bold-growing Shalia opted to merely ignore the death-like stare she received from him; as she stepped around to the green-clothed hero's right side she ran a slim finger up his side, making him flinch again. "I've got just the room for us." She breathed up at him, a suggestively obvious tone in her voice.

"Nah I r-really think we oughta be-"

"That sounds like fun!"

Link, shocked out of his very words and his Sheikah leader, both turned their comically horrified looks on the hovering cerulean guardian fairy watching overhead.

"You two can stay together and Sheik and I can bunk up!" Navi continued on, an obvious bantering tone to her grinning voice. "It'll be fun!" She insisted.

"I agree." The smirking-faced Shalia stated, barely avoiding a laugh in her tone. "What do you say... sweet-face?"

Twitching for the umpteenth time as she breathed into his ear Link took a wary step back from the advancing Gerudo, a half-annoyed, half-worried look to his maroon-shaded hue.

"I guess we could do with the rest after all of this fighting."

Positively appalled by his comrade's words Link swivelled his offended-faced shock on the frowning Sheik.

"Sheik...!" He hissed out, as if the young man had suddenly cursed very loudly.

"I don't like it any more than you do but...," he began in a defeated sigh and shrug. "They do have supplies."

"And beds too."

Shalia's contralto whispered so lowly in his ear that Link couldn't help but grimace for what felt like the fiftieth time.

Everything the woman said almost appeared to have some kind of obscene and filthy second meaning to it.

Finally relenting however, the Hero of Time found himself rolling his eyes and conceding defeat. "Fine," he answered back in an annoyed spit. "But we get separate rooms!" He insisted in a suspicious-eyed point of his index finger, eliciting a giggle from the listening Navi.

Shalia smirked back at him, shutting her eyes as she rose up her open-palmed right hand at him. "Gerudo's honour."

~

"So was Shalia gentle?"

"Shut up Navi."

In spite of his earlier hostility in dealing with the named Gerudo in question, Sheik marching on quietly next to the pair found himself chuckling very quietly at his companion's obvious expense.

Having agreed to the Gerudian commander's proposal Link, Navi and Sheik all stayed within their borders, this time as well-welcomed guests. In his unexpected overpowering of the warrior and thieving clan of women Link's victory and enlistment to the Gerudo's people was celebrated with a large feast in his honour. Although Shalia personally insisted on offering her room to the unusually timid hero however Link stuck to his boots and took a separate room for himself and Navi, sleeping just a room away from Sheik. Having graciously offered to watch Link and Sheik's horses the Gerudo, for all intents and purposes, had essentially saved the rebellion's growing troubles and repaid their debt.

In awakening the trio of heroes made way for the deep west and the horrific reputation that the Haunted Wasteland had for it; although Sheik and Navi worried as they always did, Link opted to carry his usual torch of courage for them, fairly confident in their eventual victory.

"I just realised...," Navi spoke again this time a tone of curiosity and, seemingly, realisation to her inquisitive voice. Though Link eyed his guardian fairy cautiously expecting another cheap shot from her, he remained silent and opted to listen. "The Gerudo are... Gerudo."

Although the heroes marched on through the deep sand of the Haunted Wasteland they found themselves exchanging an unsure frown together before turning to face the guardian fairy.

"Duh." Link crudely shot back; a delayed reaction of his own for his earlier irritation.

"No... I mean...," she began again, a half-sigh in her voice. "Aren't the Gerudo our enemy?"

Suddenly realising what she was implying Link's eyebrows rose up in recognition. "Oh... hey, yeah; she's right now that I think about it," the young Hylian nodded, his long and tattered dark-brown cloak shaking lightly with his movement. "Why did the Gerudo help us?"

Sheik sighed lightly as he faced the pair of Kokiri-born adventurers. "Not every Gerudo follows their king's rule faithfully," the Sheikah answered knowledgeably, tilting his blonde-haired head very lightly as he spoke. "In fact we have many Gerudo that have joined the Hylianis to rebel against king Ganondorf." He finished, a chuckle in his voice.

"Huh," Link murmured back, mildly surprised; he rose up his eyebrows a second time as he re-faced the windy front. "You'd think they'd all be behind him."

"Perhaps at one stage, yes," Sheik agreed, a new frown atop his expression. "But now that he's ruling this country with a true iron fist the only support he has are those he has garnered through intimidation and fear," he explained briefly as they marched on through the deep sands of the Gerudo desert. "When the people want change strongly enough...," he began again, nodding his head forward through the deep sandstorm they walked through. "Talkin' 'bout a revolution." The rebellion's leader chuckled, as if reciting a sentence having previously been spoken.

"I feel like I should know that song." Link bantered back in a growing grin, eliciting a blushing-faced giggle from the listening blonde next to him.

"It is a song; that's the one everyone's been singing about the Hylianis."

Although Navi meant well she was horrible at telling what was wordplay and what wasn't; opting to let her reply lie Link merely rolled his eyes in a comically taut frown before continuing on his march with his leader.

"I don't like the strength of this sandstorm...," Sheik spoke up in a concerned tone, his bandaged forearms rose up to block the fierceness of the aforementioned gale. "Let's hope we pass these two trials soon."

–

4

In crossing the very first trial of the Haunted Wasteland, the 'River of Sand', Link elected to use his own means of travel after loaning Sheik the Hover Boots he had procured from the Shadow Temple mere days earlier. Although the worrisome Sheikah expressed concern the confident Hero of Time managed to allay him by utilising his upgraded Hookshot, easily flying over river of quicksand by use of a tactically placed wooden crate.

When the trio pressed on however they soon found their progress blocked by what appeared to the mere sandstorm itself; as they drew deeper within its depths the heroes found its severity so strong they were forced to seek shelter from within a strangely-placed stone building. Dotted all around it were seven similarly-looking fiery-red flagpoles, seemingly erected as a way to assist weary travellers in their potential journeys. Although there was a small stone monument on the building's top and a staircase leading up to it, the recuperating Link found himself scratching his blonde-haired head, seemingly a normal habit now.

Having lit the two torches in the centre of the room the group of adventurers opted to rest between them; gladly laying down the ragged long cape he had been wearing, Link lay down with it, his back propped up against the stone wall behind him. His knees rose up as a platform for his broad arms to rest across, his cerulean-eyed gaze narrowing forward in thought to the words he had previously read, in a maddened rush, he had caught on the monument resting currently above them.

Only one with the Eye of Truth shall be guided to the holy Spirit Temple. Take faith in the dead.

Link scrunched up the left side of his face in thought as he drew his right thumb to his mouth to pick very lightly at.

"What does it mean?" He thought, his left eye narrowing in deep rumination. The youth barely noticed the, oddly, snoring Navi resting in his cap laying on the ground next to him. Without his faithful headgear resting on him his long dirty-blonde hair came down in the neat ponytail that Saria had once taught him so skilfully years ago.

"Link..."

His straw-haired eyebrows rose up and, in a mixture of light surprise and remembrance, he swivelled his head 'round to his lower left to find Sheik laying across the wall and up against his left side. Although the strong-willed Sheikah had practically insisted on separate areas to sleep in the abnormally small living space he, very quickly, found himself betraying his seeming intentions and using the Hylian as a pillow. In spite of his early hostility with the Hylianis militaris ordinis' leader Link gradually found himself softening toward his war companion.

Besides Navi he's really all I have left, he thought on with a tinge of sadness.

That single sentence, however true, managed to pierce through the stoic boy's heart.

Maybe once Ganondorf's dealt with the Six Sages won't have to be Sages anymore, he added, a silent hope to his ruminations.

"I'm... sorry..."

Sheik's saddened and sorrowful soprano floated over to the listening Hero of Time, an odd kind of feminine quality to it. Strangely, even as he lamented in his sleep, Sheik's growingly relaxed state eventually extended to him laying on the broad form of his companion to rest.

Not that I mind, Link thought as he turned his frown down to face the sentimental Sheikah, a half-curious and softened look in his eye.

I wonder what he's sorry for, he wondered silently.

"Maybe he feels guilty about Saria."

His silent reflections were soon answered however when the Sheikah opened his mouth beneath his long and familiar white scarf.

"I... love you..."

Link found his nerves stiffening, almost immediately; an odd sense of vertigo and embarrassment washed over him as he eyed the Sheikah cautiously.

He's probably just talking about his aunt Impa or someone from his family, Link reasoned within.

That's all.

"Mm... Link..."

As Sheik's fingers squeezed on the fabric of his Kokiri tunic at his left side he held back from twitching and moving.

Oh no, he thought.

"Please... forgive me..."

Although most of what he was saying appeared to be mere delirium as he slept – sleep talk essentially – Link managed to decipher some meanings out of the words he spoke.

One half appeared to be apologising, whether to him or to someone else was anyone's guess.

And the second...

"The second just makes me embarrassed..."

Unfortunately for the flustered youth, even as he thought the very words, his choice to get back up was the wrong one; as he moved, very slowly, he found that Sheik's position on his began to crumble and very quickly at that. Fairly soon the Kokiri-born Hylian managed to lose his position on the makeshift quilt below them and, as a result, fell to his right side. Grunting as he landed the Hero of Time could only groan; an mixture of annoyance that shot through his system when he made his mistake and, more importantly, realisation.

It was only when he turned his head up and found the, surprisingly light, form of Sheik laying on top of him.

And now he was awake.

At first Link found his cheeks, similarly to his companion atop him, turning bright-red but soon his brow furrowed when he caught a surprising sight indeed.

The Sheikah's face was actually visible.

Strangely, he found it fairly feminine for a man of around his own age; smooth skin graced the Sheikah's complexion but the most interesting sight, by far, was his eyes.

In complete defiance to what he'd normally known of the secretive leader his eyes were, instead of their usual fiery-crimson, a deep-sea blue.

A blue that Link somehow recognised.

Sheik gasped, as if having been caught undressing, and he scrambled to leave off of the wide-eyed Link's own laying form. Turning his slender back to the blonde-haired Hylian Sheik, very shakily, rose his similarly small fingers to bring back up his familiar white scarf. Link stood up, slowly, to face him and put on a furrowed brow of concentration as he stared, realisation slowly settling in. He opened his mouth to speak the words he was dying to speak.

"I know you."

Sheik stiffened at the sound of his voice, as if it were static electricity to the touch.

"But...," the former Kokiri shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he continued. "How is that...?"

As he listened dutifully and quietly Sheik lowered his light straw-haired head, almost as if in defeat.

"I'm... sorry, Link," he apologised, this time consciously, his head held lowly. "But I've been deceiving you."

Link found his nerves twitching for the Master Sword laying at his feet, his senses growing increasingly hostile. "Who even are you?" He hissed over, half-annoyed with the supposed Sheikah, eyes narrowed. "Are you who you say you are?"

"No," Sheik answered, 'rounding himself to face his companion, a contemplative look in the familiar ruby-red colour of his one visible eye. "I'm not a Sheikah, Link. And Impa wasn't my aunt."

"Then... who...?"

"What I'm about to show you isn't the whole truth," the imposter claimed, a softened look in their eye. "But know that I had no other choice than to deceive you... in order to deceive our enemy."

Although he listened politely the blonde hero was not impressed; he stared back in a hardened furrow of his brow, awaiting his comrade's next answer. A peculiar blend of anger and suspicion washed over him as he waited. As Sheik rose up his left hand, back-facing him, Link found an odd kind of light coming from it. Sheik's oddly feminine voice echoed through his mind along with the artificial light he provided him with.

"I place myself... in your hands... Link."


End file.
